Rogue Soul
by Kerim
Summary: AU BLEACH "That's correct Ichigo, your true name is not Kurosaki. You are truly a member of the once proud Shiba clan, althougth I must also imform you, that the very name puts a price on your head."
1. Seeing Ghosts

_I do not own Bleach or anything related to it, so please don't sue me._

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The school bell rang, signaling the end of the days classes and at the same time, signaling the awakening of one sleepy student. He sat on the far right side of the classroom, near the row of windows overlooking the school grounds. The boy groggily stood and packed away his books which had until recently been serving the role of comfortable pillows, until the bell woke him from his doze.

He began to walk out of the door, glad to finally begin his trek home.

"Mr. Kurosaki," his teacher said in a displeased tone. Ichigo turned to his teacher and saw the annoyance in her face. "This is the eleventh time I've had to remind you." She said to him, obviously irritated. "Do not sleep in my class."

Ichigo just looked at her agitated expression and nodded sleepily. "I'll try not to let it happen again."

"You would do well to uphold that statement young man," his teacher said as he walked out of the room. She sighed. **Why do I even try, he'll just come back and go asleep again tomorrow.**

As Ichigo exited the school building, he chuckled a bit to himself about his teachers statement. **It's not like it matters, I'll ace the test anyway.**

He continued to walk home, but as he rounded a corner, a chill ran down his spine. **Another one?** he thought, **now where is the see-thru bastard?** He quickly looked around the intersection, trying to find what he was looking for.** No…no…no…no not him…no…AH there he is! ** He started over to the other side of the road until he reached a small alleyway and entered.

There in front of him was a person, although not really. This person was transparent, and as far as anyone could tell had no visible legs. He was a ghost, a spirit of one who died, invisible to all living things, but not to one Ichigo Kurosaki. "How am I here, why am I down there two?, what's going on?" The ghost mumbled hysterically to nobody in particular, it was obviously panicked; scared at the unexpected change of events.

"Hey there," Ichigo said to the floating spirit, trying to gain his attention.

"Huh," the ghost said as he spun around to see the boy standing behind him. **Oh, he can't be talking to me, nobody can see..**

"Hey!," Ichigo shouted, interrupting the spirits thoughts. "I'm talking to you, don't just float there looking stupid!"

"You can see me?," the ghost said, with Ichigo nodding in response. "Oh, that's a relief, I…" the color that had briefly returned to the spirits face disappeared completely. He began to back away. "If I'm dead…..than…than..you must be death here to take me away to the Underworld!"

"Sorry to bust your bubble," Ichigo responded. "But I am not here to carry your soul away." He took a step closer to the spirit. "I'm here to help you."

"Help me?," the ghost responded in confusion. "But, how? Can you bring me back to life?!" Hope flooded to his face at the prospect.

"No, I can't," Ichigo said to the ghost, obviously disappointing him.

"Then how are you supposed to help me,?" the ghost cried out to him. "In case you haven't noticed, I'M DEAD."

Ichigo gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his mounting frustration. "It's up to you, do you need anything, do you want for me to tell someone something for you?"

"Like what?," the spirit shouted. "HEY, GUESS WHAT I'M DEAD!!!"

This was all Ichigo could take. **Bastard should be happy I'm even offering to help him out. **He turned quickly and marched out of the alleyway, leaving the rude ghost behind. **Hope nobody saw that, me having a conversation with the empty space of an alleyway; yeah that looks sane.**

After Ichigo left, the ghost went back to worrying about his situation. **Where will my money go? Who's going to look after my dog? Who's going to run my company? DAMN, why didn't I write a will?**

Unbeknownst to the ghost however, he was being watched. A very confused cat sat on top of a trash can in that very same alley. It had a solid jet black coat and yellow eyes, but mot of all, it had seen the entire conversation. **How was that boy able to to see the spirit? Why does he look like…like…I've got to inform Kisuke of this. **The cat nimbly leapt down from the perch and darted down the sidewalk, weaving through the mass of people. The feline made its way several blocks though the city, certainly at some time passing the boy from before. As the cat swept down onto another street, a tall wooden fence came into view, it nimbly lept to the top and bolted down it until a small building came into view, "ah finally, Kisuke's shop," the cat said with a decidedly masculine voice. The cat lept off of the fence and made it's way inside. Passing a girl with absurd bangs getting bullied by a boy with short, bright red hair, and another very large man with glasses cooking something over a stove.

The black cat entered the back room of the building. "Kisuke!," it said aloud.

"hm..," a voice said from the corner. It came from a man in a dark coat and a striped bucket hat. He was currently messing around with a small orb, tossing it from hand to hand. "What is it Yoruichi?," Kisuke Urahara said as he raised his head to look at the feline. "You look like you've been in a hurry."

"Well Kisuke, I've come across something that may interest you," Yoruichi said to the laid-back shopkeeper.

"Really?," Urahara said. He put the orb back into a case and locked it. "Well let's hear it then," he said as he turned back towards Yoruichi.

"While I was going for a stroll around the city today, I came across something odd."

"Like what, anyone suspicious from the soul society?"

"No, Kisuke," responded Yoruichi. "I've never seen something quite like it before, there was a human, a schoolboy in fact, who was able to see a ghost.

"Seeing a flicker of a ghost isn't uncommon Yoruichi," Urahara told the cat. "Everyday someone sees a slight shimmer and believes it's a ghost."

"NO, no, no, you misunderstood me Kisuke," the cat said with slight annoyance audible in its voice. "This boy could see the entire ghost, and even had a conversation with it." A flash of interest darted across Urahara's eyes at the statement. "The boy was so casual about the situation, as if he had spoken to ghosts many times before, like it was part of his daily routine."

"You sure he wasn't a soul reaper?," asked Kisuke.

"I'm positive, he had neither a zanpakto nor was he in a gigai."

"A human that can see spirits…," Urahara mumbled to himself. "Sounds interesting."

"I thought you would find it so," Yoruichi said as he hopped down off of the crate. "I'm going to go take a nap now," Yoruichi said as his thoughts turned a bundle of cushions laying in the corner.

"Yoruichi," Urahara called out to him from his seated position. "Bring him here tomorrow, I'd like to meet this person."

"Sure thing," the cat answered. Urahara nodded and began to walk out of the room. "By the way," Yoruichi called back to him. "The boy I spoke of, he strongly resembles someone you may remember."

"Hmmm..," Urahara mumbled. "And who would that be?"

"Kaien Shiba."

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While he was being discussed at Urahara's shop, Ichigo was just arriving home. A sign saying "Kurosaki Clinic" hung over the doorway, identifying the building as a medical center. Ichigo's father was in the Medical profession and had opened this place as an alternative for local people to the general hospital downtown. Ichigo himself was never heavily involved, although his sisters occasionally served as nurses on the busy days.

He approached the door and opened it, finally home after another long day. Althougth as he opened the door, he was met with a flying kick from his father. "You're late Ichigo!," the father yelled at his son.

"What the hell is wrong with you!," Ichigo shouted.

"I see nothing wrong with caring about my son," his father said with a smirk.

"You kicked me when I opened the door!," he yelled, gritting his teeth and picking himself up off the ground.

"It was a kick of concern!," his father told him, crossing his arms. "Besides you're the one who broke the rules."

"You're insane!," Ichigo growled out to his father.

"Perhaps, but I care," Mr. Kurosaki answered.

"I'll show you caring!," Ichigo shouted back as he threw a punch that connected with his fathers cheek.

"*sigh* They're at it again Yuzu," said a girl with short dark hair inside the house. She was watching the two quarrel from a window.

"Oh no!," another voice said from behind her. Another girl, the others sister, popped up beside her. Her hair was lighter than her sisters and was pinned back by a hair clip. Her face was obviously full of concern at the scene developing outside.

"Relax Yuzu," the first girl said to her worried sister. "They're men, it's how they settle things."

"But Karin, what if they hurt themselves," Yuzu said worriedly.

"They're not that stupid," Karin responded nonchalantly. "They'll be back in when they get tired." Yuzu looked at her sister and nodded, she was usually right about things like this. She took one more worried glance at the two and then headed back downstairs to finish dinner. She had placed herself responsible for such things after their mother had died, while her sister Karin had developed a tough shell around her and her emotions; trying not to burden the others with her problems.

Just as Karin predicted, the two boys entered the house a few minutes later, battered and bruised, but not anything serious. They sat down at the table where Karin was already present. "What I say sis, here they are now," Karin shouted back to her sister who was still busy in the kitchen.

Yuzu looked around the corner to where the trio was seated and let out a gasp of shock at their condition. "Your hurt!, here let me find the first aid kit…"

"Don't worry about it Yuzu, I got it this time," Karin said to Yuzu. "I already got the kit here," she held it up so she could see it.

"So, mind telling me why you were late Ichigo," Mr. Kurosaki said to his son as Karin began to bandage them up.

"Sprits again," Ichigo responded. "More and more of them seem to be seeking me out every day."

"Spirits or no spirts, I expect you to not be late, understand?" **His mother used to see those things, floating around. She always had a knack for the amazing. "oww, Karin what are you doing!?"**

"If you would just sit still, my job would be a lot easier you know," Karin responded as she again began to stitch her fathers wound shut.

"Dinners ready!," Yuzu shouted out of the Kitchen. A moment later, she wheeled it all out to the dining room on a modified gurney. After everything was set on the table, she said "dig in," and they all began to eat.

**Another eventful day in my life.** Ichigo thought to himself. **Why are those damn things drawn to me anyway, maybe they know I'll be able to see them? I don't know, I guess I'll think about it tomorrow.**


	2. The shop of Kisuke Urahara

_**Alright, Chapter 2. As stated before I do not won Bleach or anything related to it. **_

_**To: **__**Aoi-Mizu: thanks for the review, I appreciate it.**_

_**To: **__**gagboy: Nobody is going to straight give him their powers like Rukia did, he is going to do something completely different**_

"Brrrrrinnngg," the school boy rang as the day once again came to a close, however unlike the day before, Ichigo Kurosaki was not asleep. He had in fact spent most of his day pondering his ability to see and communicate with spirits. It was a topic of frequent thought for the young man, as he could never really explain how he had gained the ability.

"Mr. Kurosaki," his teacher called out to him. "You can leave now, the bell has rung."

Her statement shook Ichigo out of his daze. He thru everything into his bag, nodded towards his teacher, and made his way quickly out of the building; his mind shifting back to his abilities. **It just doesn't make any sense….why me of all people? **He made his way down the street, trying to actually arrive on time today and avoid another of his fathers random attacks. He was passing by the same alley from the day before when he heard someone call out to him. "Hey, Strawberry!" Ichigo stopped in his tracks and peered inside in an attempt to find the owner of the voice.

"Hey!, you got a problem with my hair say it to my face!," he shouted into the alley, unable to find his verbal assailant.

"I'm right here you buffoon," the same voice said to him from seemingly nowhere.

"Yeah right, you're hiding somewhere," Ichigo shouted back in response, dropping into a guarded stance and drawing puzzled looks from the passing pedestrians.

"On top of the trashcan you Oaf!," his invisible assailant called back to him. Ichigo shifted his gaze to the nearest trashcan, ready for a fight, but lost all focus as he saw an ordinary alleycat.

"Ha, Ha very funny," said Ichigo, still watching the cat. "If your too cowardly to show yourself than just say so.

"Well, good thing I'm not a coward," the cat told him. "Otherwise it would be very difficult for me to be speaking to you like this."

"AH! A talking cat!," said a shocked Ichigo. **First ghosts, now cats, just my luck.** He composed himself and looked the cat square in the face "Look, I'm sorry but I can't go get you a fish, your on your own. I have places to be."

Yoruichi's shifted in annoyance. "That's not why I'm here boy."

"Alright, so what is it?," Ichigo said, beginning to lose interest in the animal.

"A friend of mine would like to speak with you," Yoruichi said. "He's quite interested in you."

"Me?, why would anyone be interested in me?," Ichigo questioned the feline.

"Shouldn't it be obvious to you? He's interested in how you are able to see and communicate with spirits." Yoruichi replied.

"How do you know I can see ghosts," Ichigo said, shock gradually fading in to anger. "Have you been spying on me!?"

"Actually, I witnessed you entertaining conversation with that business mans spirit yesterday." Yoruichi said. "I must say, he was a rude one."

"Wait!, you can see them too!," replied Ichigo.

"Yes, and there are more like me," Yoruichi said matter-of-factly. "My master is one of them, he may be able to help you understand your power." **Good, he's interested, this might be easier than I thought…**

"Not interested," Ichigo replied quickly.

"WHAT?!," replied a surprised Yoruichi. "Aren't you interested in your power?,"

"Yes," Ichigo said as he turned to walk out of the alleyway. "However, I'm not just going to follow you because you say you can help me out; for all I know you could be with the government or something." He began to walk away from the alleyway, trying to leave the strange cat behind him.

**Well…rule out easy. I'll have to take drastic measures. **Youruichi thought. The cat lept off the can and charged towards Ichigo. The cat lept at the last second and snagged Ichigo's bag with her teeth, ripping it out of his hands.

"Hey!, what are you doing?," Ichigo yelled at the cat who was now sprinting down the street with his things.

"You better catch me if you ever want your stuff back," the cat shouted back at him from down the road.

**Damn it…..just my luck**. "Get back here you little bastard!" Ichigo shouted and began to chase after the thieving feline, weaving in and out of the mass of people. After awhile, he lost track of it. **Damn….where'd it go?**

"Over here boy," He heard from his left. Ichigo turned to see the troublesome cat sitting on top of a large fence, with his bag around its neck. "You are dreadfully slow by the way, I'm beginning to wonder if you even want to see this stuff again. Ichigo growled in anger and charged the fence, hoping to strangle the cat when he caught it. "Oh, so you want to continue?" Yoruichi asked. "Very well, catch me if you can." The cat skillfully leapt off the other side of the fence and began a jog down the road on the otherside, pausing for a second to view Ichigo climb up and over the fence.

"Alright, here I come Kitty!," Ichigo yelled before breaking into a sprint towards the stationary cat. "Get ready to DIE!!!".

"My, my aren't you angry?," Yoruichi answered as he took off down the dirt road, easily outpacing his human pursuer. He continued at this pace until a familiar shop came into view. **Hmmm…..followed me right to it.** Yoruichi darted inside the building.

**Stupid cat….it just trapped itself.** Ichigo thought with a grin. **I've got it cornered now. **He ran inside the building eager to find the thief with his bag, only to trip over an outstretched leg. "OW!, what the hell did I trip on!?," Ichigo shouted aloud.

"No running in the store," a small boy said to him, he was leaning with his back against an inside wall.

"Why'd you trip me you little Punk!," Ichigo shouted at the boy with bright red hair. He picked himself off the ground and rubbed nose which took a blow as he hit the ground.

"Hey, it was you who broke the rules," the kid said with a smirk. "and by the way…" He was holding a broom in his hands, which he now used to smack Ichigo across the face. "No shouting either."

Ichigo grabbed the side of his face where there was now a large red mark from the brooms impact. "WHY YOU LITTLE!...."

"Ah, so this must be him, eh Yoruichi," he heard a voice call from behind him.

Ichigo turned to see a tall man in a dark robe, sandals, and a striped bucket hat who was looking at him with curiosity. "Yeah, that's him Kisuke," the until now unnoticed Yoruichi said to her friend the shopkeeper.

"You were right, he does strongly resemble Kaien," said Urahara, placing a hand to his chin. "Althougth his hair color is completely different." He raised the brim of his hat and looked Ichigo in the eyes. "So, you can see ghosts?"

"I didn't come here to talk to you," said Ichigo, anger and annoyance evident in his tone. "I followed that damn cat of yours that stole my stuff." He turned a venomous glare towards the cat who was now relaxing on top of a crate.

"Oh, you mean this thing," Urahara said as he lifted up Ichigo's bag in his right hand. "Yeah, Yoruichi said you wouldn't come easily so tricking you into following was the only option."

"Just give me my stuff back so I can go home," said Ichigo.

"Tell you what, I'll cut you a deal," Urahara said, lowering the brim of his hat. "If you can grab your bag out of my hands, you can leave and we'll never bother you again. However if you cannot, then I suppose you'll have to sit and listen to what I have to say for a little while."

**Easy enough. **Ichigo thought with a smirk. **This guy doesn't look fast at all**. "All right, I'll take the deal." Ichigo dashed forward and reached for the bag. "Got it!," he said aloud.

"Are you sure,?" Urahara questioned. "You might want to check your hands."

"Here take a look!," Ichigo raised his hands to eye level, but was shocked to find their was nothing in them. "What?, but I had it." He mumbled in shock.

"No, I'm afraid you only thought you did," Urahara said nonchalantly, holding up the bag with his left hand. "Would you care to try again?"

Frustrated, Ichigo attempted to snatch the bag out of Urahara's hands again, only to come up empty again. He became frustrated and frantically grabbed at the rapidly moving parcel. Time and time again it eluded his grasp, moving to quickly for the eye to see. "What the hell is this?, some kind of trick," Ichigo said, to Urahra, panting from his rapid attempts at grabbing the bag.

"Afraid not kid," Urahara said to the bewildered Ichigo. "Your just moving to slowly to grab it, to me your moving in slow motion." Ichigo just gritted his teeth at the statement, watching Urahara angrily. "So, you ready to hear what I have to say yet, or are we going to be here all night?" Ichigo just stood for a second, catching his breath, but as he raised his head again, preparing for another series of attempts, Urahara noticed a change. The boy's eyes seemed keener, sharper, and even seemed to have shifted to a lighter shade of brown. The space around him seemed to change to Urahara as well. Althougth invisible to the average person, the residents of the shop could see a faint blue glow surrounding the boy in front of them. **A reiatsu Aura? **Urahara thought, bewildered. **Not only does the boy emit spiritual pressure, but its strong, random and uncontrolled, but strong all the same…**

Ichigo's gaze turned back towards Urahara and his bag. "You better have some coffee nearby…because we're going to be here all night!" He dashed quickly towards the surprised shopkeeper and reached for his bag. He could feel the fabric beneath his grip and tugged at the bag with all his might, managing to snatch it out of Urahara hands, and falling back on his ass.

Urahara just stared at the now prone Ichigo on the floor of his shop, amazed. **How could a human have power like that? **

"HAHA, yes!," Ichigo said aloud as he clutched the schoolbag to himself. He stood with a smirk on his face and looked towards Urahara. "To fast for you?," he taunted.

"Actually, you were still moving pretty slowly," Urahara answered. "Although, you surprised me just now, I didn't expect that kind of power out of you."

"Power,?" Ichigo thought, confused at his statement. "What do you mean power?"

"Before that last grab, you released spiritual pressure," Urahara explained. "Something that spirits give off. I suspected you had it when Yoruichi told me you could see the spirits, however the amount you just gave off should not be possible in a human being."

"Really?, huh I guess I'm just special," Ichigo said sarcastically. He turned to begin to walk out of the building, wanting to distance himself from these strange people.

"Aren't you going to stop him," Yoruichi said to Urahara as they watched the boy march away down the road.

"No Yoruichi," Urahara said as he turned to go back to his desk in the back room. "Besides, with spiritual pressure like that I don't think that'll be the last time we meet."

"What do you mean Kisuke," Yoruichi said, following by his feet. "Do you think the soul society will get involved."

"Perhaps Yoruichi, but I doubt it, I think he'll have other things to worry about before long," Urahara said as he sat himself sown on his desk.

"You mean he'll come into contact with.." Yoruichi began, knowing where her old friend was heading.

"Yes, power like his on a human will draw hollows to him like a magnet, especially after he released it like he did just now," Urahara said with a relaxed tone.

"Won't that be incredibly dangerous for him," Yoruichi said concerned. "The boy can't defend himself at all, if a hollow got to him, it would tear him apart."

"I know Yoruichi," Urahara said with a sigh. "But don't worry about it, I'll Hiyori patrol the town tonight, she'll take care of any hollows that show up."

Yoruichi shuddered a little at the mention of the short-tempered, super aggressive assistant. "She makes me nervous Kisuke,"

"It'll be fine," Urahara assured the cat. "I trust her, she won't let the boy die."

"Urahara, I can tell what your thinking," Yoruichi said, sounding as serious as he could, despite his cat body. "I sure hope you know what your doing."

"So do I Yoruichi, so do I,"


	3. Roses and Rescue

**She's not going to like this…** Yoruichi thought as he watched Urahara pick up his cell phone. **Calling her up for duty on her day off….**

"Hey, Hiyori," Urahara friendly said into the phone.

"What the hell do you want," came the reply, from an obviously female voice.

"I need to ask you a favor Hiyori…," said Urahara

"And what would that be…," Hiyori replied, inwardly sensing that something was about to ruin her day.

"I'm going to need for you to patrol Kurakara town for hollows…," Urahra said quickly, bracing himself for the inevitable outburst. "..tonight."

"WHAT!?," Hiyori shouted , almost deafening Urahara. "Dumbass!, today's my day off, I'm not going out there.!"

**Why did I think this was a good idea again….** Urahara wondered to himself, rubbing his temples in an attempt to wards off the already mounting headache. "I really need for you to do this tonight Hiyori, I can't help that its your day off."

"Why can't you do it yourself you lazy bastard!," she shouted back, infuriated at the shopkeepers request.

"I have other things to attend to Hiyori," Urahara said. "Besides, I haven't asked you to patrol the town for over two years now.... I thought you wouls salivate at the opportunity to slay a hollow or two.."

"WELL YOU THOUGHT WRO..," **wait a minute….Hollows? **The comment had peaked her interest. "And what makes you think Hollows will show up on this particular night Urahara?'

"Let's just say it's a hunch," Urahara replied with a grin. **Hehe…shes hooked.**

"Well, a command to run around and kill hollows…….I can live with that." HIyori said over the line.

"Well, I'm glad we reached an understanding," Urahara said, inwardly sighing. **I thought she was going to come through the line and strangle me for a second there..** "Bye Hiyori."

"Later"

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Ichigo Kurosaki glanced at his watch as he approached the Kurosaki Clinic. **Ah, will you look at that, after all of todays craziness, I'm actually going to be home on time today. **As he approached the building, he could see his sister Karin kicking a soccer ball against the side of the house. "Practicing Karin?," he asked her.

"Oh, hey Ichigo," she replied. "Yeah, I have a big game coming up soon."

"You seem to have gotten better since the last time I saw you practicing," said Ichigo.

"You don't know the half of it," Karin responded rearing back for a powerful kick. "Watch this!" She kicked the ball with maximum force, sending it as a blur into the side of the building. She was planning to stop it in midair, but as it rebounded, a hazy shape above Ichigo's left shoulder made her lose her concentration. "Hey Ichigo, what's tha…."

"OwwwHH!," the brother in question cried out as the forgotten soccer ball slammed into his face. He clutched at his already pained nose and gave Karin a threatening look. "Pay attention to what your doing!, you could have broken my nose just now!"

"Well sooooooorry," she responded with a death glare of her own. "But, I saw something hovering behind you, one of your ghost friends again?" She pointed behind him, to the vague shape.

Ichigo turned to see a familiar sight, the ghost from the day before. "What the hell do you want," Ichigo said to the spirit. "I thought you didn't need my help."

"I apologize for the day before," the ghost said. "That was very rude of me to act that way."

"Your damn right it was!," Ichigo shouted back. He stared back at the ghost before asking , "what is it you want anyway?"

"You asked me the other day if I would like you to help me," the ghost said. "Well, they're something I would like for you to help me with."

"And what makes you think I'll help you now, huh?" Ichigo said, turning away from the spirit and heading towards the door to his house.

"It's about my wife."

Ichigo froze on his way to the door. "What?"

"There's something I want for you to say to her," the ghost eyes turned to Ichigo, pleading with him. "I've tried, but I can't tell her myself…….I need your help."

"I…," Ichigo started, shocked at the sincerity of the ghosts request.

"Go on Ichigo," he heard his sister say to his left. "I can tell you feel the need to help this one, I guess I can cover for you."

Ichigo looked back at his sister before turning back to face the ghost. "Where does she live?"

"Just follow me, I'll show you the way." The spirit floated off down the road and Ichigo followed after him.

"Hey you owe me Ichigo!," he heard Karin shout from the top of the hill. "You have to cover for me one day, got it!" Ichigo just raised his arm to wave and continued down the road, following the floating spirit.

After awhile, he asked "So what is it you want for me to tell her mr….." Ichigo began, not certain on what to call his ethereal guide.

"Mochizuki, call me Mochizuki," the spirit replied to Ichigo. After a silence, he said "I want you to tell her something that only I would know, so she'll know I still love her, even in death."

"Well, what is it Moe,?" Ichigo asked, curious. "What exactly do you want for me to tell her?"

His spiritual guide stopped in place and bowed his head to the ground.

"Moe?," Ichigo said to his companion. "Hey Moe you alright."

"I want…," Mochizuki began. "I want for you to tell her…..to tell her that even from behind a veil of roses, will I love her forever."

"A veil of roses?," Ichigo repeated, confused. "Why do you want for me to tell her that? It doesn't make any sense."

Mochizuki smirked and began to float away again. "Would you like to know the story behind that line?"

Ichigo thought about it before asking "How much longer until we reach your house."

"Oh, I'd say about thirty minutes, give or take." Mochizuki responded.

"Yeah, I guess I'll hear it," Ichigo said. **I wouldn't be able to stand thirty minutes of awkward silence. **He thought as he sped up to catch up with the ghost.

"Yes, well it all started on our honeymoon," Mochizuki began. "We were newlyweds, still full of marital bliss and grand hopes for the future. We went on a cross country road trip, to see all the sights of the country. That was her passion, she loved traveling and seeing places, meeting new people. Me, I run…..sorry, ran a business where I don't get out much, so the freedom to travel around was a much needed break from the everyday commotion of the office. As we traveled, we saw many memorable sights, but one of them stuck with us."

"I'm guessing it had something to do with roses?," Ichigo said to Mochizuki. He was now walking beside the spirit, stride for stride.

"Precisely," the spirit replied. "We had run out of gas and were stranded on the side of the road." He chuckled a little, remembering how ridiculous he looked trying to wave down cars in the middle of the night. "It had to be around one in the morning around that time, and I must have frightened more than my share of drivers on that night, jumping out in front of their cars, trying to get them to stop. I had just about given up hope, when the full moon came out from behind a cloud and my wife noticed something…" "Turn right up here."

"Oh, yeah," Ichigo said, turning at an intersection. He turned back to Mochizuki, "what did she notice?"

"She noticed a red haze in the distance, almost unnoticeable to the naked eye," he started again. She wanted me to check it out with her, but I wanted to stay and see if I could get someone to pull over. However, dispite my protests, she ended up convincing me to go with her….that was my weakness, I just couldn't say no to her. As I followed her into a grassy field, I was able to make out what they were…roses. There were hundreds of them, all grouped into the same spot, dew sitting on the leaves, reflecting the light of the full moon. It seemed as if we were afloat on a sea of green with naught but each other and a raft of shining rubies."

**Wow, this guys a real romantic**. Thought Ichigo. **I never would have guessed from how he acted yesterday..**

"I took her hand as we stood there and looked deep into her eyes, eyes of the color of the surrounding sea and told her that I loved her. Ever since than roses have held a great significance to the both of us. When she was pregnant with our son, I brought freshly cut red roses to her every day."

"But why say from behind a veil of them?," Ichigo asked Mochizuki.

"Well, we once had a conversation agreeing whoever survived the other, had to plant roses on the others grave. So to see her, I would in effect need to see through a veil of roses."

"I see," said Ichigo, overwhelmed after the mans story. **Wow, I hope I can do that justice…**

"This is the house," Mochizuki said as they stopped in front of a rather large building, with many cars parked outside.

**Must be the wake **Ichigo thought, looking at all the people through the windows. They were all wearing black, and some seemed to be crying. He took a deep breath and walked up to the door, Michozuki watching his every move. He knocked on the door and after a few seconds, a woman in a black dress and wearing a veil answered.

"Can I help you?," she said shakily. **She'd obviously been crying** Ichigo thought.

"Are you the wife of a Mr. Mochizuki?" inquired Ichigo.

"Yes I am," she answered, trying to hold back a sob. "Did you know my husband?"

"Yeah, in fact I did," Ichigo answered softly.

"Well come in," she said moving out of the way for him.

"Sorry, but I can't stay," Ichigo responded. "However, your husband wanted for me to tell you something in case of something like this happening."

"Wha….What?," she said, confused at Ichigo's statement.

"He wanted for me to tell you that…to tell you that even behind a veil of roses, he will love you forever." The sobbing woman froze at his words.

"He told you about that?!," she said in surprise.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "I was a paper boy a few years ago for his business, he always told me about you."

"Thank you…," the woman sobbed as she burst into tears at the door. People in the building started to look towards the door, signaling Ichigos time to get moving.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now," he said to the woman as he turned to go down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom and turned back to face her. "He was a good man, he truly was." The crying widow nodded to him as she closed the door, returning to the others.

"Thank you," a misty eyed Michozuki said to Ichigo. "Words cannot exprese my gratitude.

"Save it," Ichigo said to the spirit. "I did it because I wanted to."

"Sure you did," Michozuki said, cracking a bit of a smirk.

"So, what are you going to do now,?" Ichigo said, turning back to the ghostly figure of Michozuki.

"I'll probably stay here and watch over my wife," the spirit told him. Michozuki began to float in the direction of the door. "Besides, I'd like to see all my old friends aga…" His voice was cut off as an inhuman shriek cut through the night air.

"What the hell was that?!," Ichigo shouted to no one on particular.

"I don't know," replied Michozuki.

"Whatever it is," Ichigo started. "It doesn't sound friendly." The pair looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. What they saw rooted them to the ground with fear. There was a large, black creature hanging from the roof of a nearby building. It was hanging by two colossal arms of what appeared to bulging muscle, but the most startling feature on the creature was its face. It had a solid white face, contorted and twisted into in an inhuman mask, with two eyes full of malevolence glaring at the two.

"Run!," Michozuki shouted, his flight or flight response strongly leading towards the second option. He soared down the streets, closely followed by Ichigo. They dashed down two side streets, but panicked, able to hear the approaching stomp of the massive being. They attempted to run out they way they had come, but were blocked as the beast blocked the only entrance.

Ichigo and Michizuki backed away from the creature, glancing around to try and find a way out. **Nothing…..** Ichigo thought to himself.** Guess theres only one thing left to do..** He grabbed Michozuki and hurled him to the back of the alley, placing himself between the spirit and the ghastly being.

"What are you doing!," Michozuki shouted back to his human companion. "That thing will kill yo…"

"Shut Up!," Ichigo shouted back to the ghost, a familier blue aura beginning to surround him as he planted his feet to fight.

The creature stopped in its tracks and looked at the human boy before him. "Well how about that," it snarled out, its voice making both Ichigo and Michozuki's skin crawl. "I come sensing a spirit, but I find a delicious smelling human as well…" The creature opened his mouth to reveal a menacing row of teeth and a long, forked tongue. "Which one of you should I devour first?" The beast glanced in turns towards both of them, unable to decide which was the more appetizing. After some inner delegation, it chose Ichigo. **How can I pass up energy like that, and from a defenseless human no less….HAHA…this is to rich**. Ichigo braced himself as the beast charges towards him, mouth full of razor sharp teeth, inviting its prey to dive inside. Just as it was almost upon him however, it stopped. "What…," the creature weakly said as a cut slowly became visible, dividing it into two parts.

"Huh..," gasped out Ichigo, confused at why the creature was split into two parts. As each side fell, one to the left, and the other to the right, a shape was revelealed on the other side. As the dust from the corpse settled, it was revealed that their savior was none other than a young girl. She stood in a red jogging suit and sandals, while wielding a katana. But what really stood out were her blond pigtails coming out from either side of her head.

"You must be a complete and total idiot to think you can take on a hollow," she spat at the stunned human. "But, I guess I should expect that from a human," she said with a shrug.

"How did you kill that thing!," he shouted.

"With my sword,!" she shouted back in response. "How else could I have cut it dumbass!"

Ichigo was about to shout back, but his mouth was covered by Michozuki who had sneaked up behind him. "Excuse me," the spirit asked politely. "but, who are you exactly."

The girl lept over the fallen hollow to stand in front of the pair before responding. "HIyori Sarugaki."


	4. Ichigo's power

_**As stated before I do not won Bleach or anything related to it. **_

_**To what the gaaah: Not sure yet, as of now it is a possibility though.**_

_**To IchigoKurosakiSotaicho: No, she isn't as of now.**_

"My name is Mochizuki, it is a pleasure to meet you," Mochizuki said politely to HIyori. He waited for a second, then glared at Ichigo when he failed to respond in turn.

Ichigo glared at the girl from his pinned position before saying. "Your no ordinary person, are you?"

"What was your first clue?," she responded. "But then again, your not so normal either now are you? Seeing a hollow isn't something a human is supposed to be able to do."

**Why do I keep hearing that** Ichigo thought. **Why do I continue to run into these strange people…**

"So," Hiyori asked, fixing her gaze on the human. "how the hell are you doing it?"

"I just can," Ichigo responded flatly. "I've always been able to."

"Really…..so you've always been emitting energy like a beacon?," she said sarcastically.

"What is with you people and 'energy'," Ichigo shouted back. "I've already heard it from the guy with the hat and sandals!"

**Hat and sandals? **HIyori thought. "Tell me human, was there by any chance a cat or a red-headed kid with him?"

"Yeah, both were there," Ichigo responded. "Why, you know him?"

"DAMMIT URAHARA,!" she shouted to the empty air. So that's why he sent me out here, to make sure this human doesn't die…..I AM NOT A BABYSITTER!! Her face, now contorted with rage, made both Ichigo and Mochizuki slowly bein to back away. **Wait'll I get my hands on the bastard…I'll kill him. **She turned from the pair and lept to the top of an adjacent bulding, heading towards the shop, she was gone in the blink of an eye, as if never there.

Ichigo glared at the spot where she was. **What the hell just happened? **"Ichigo…..Ichigo snap out of it!," Mochizuki said, trying to shake Ichigo back into reality.

Ichigo shook his head and turned back to the ghost. "What!," he growled in annoyance.

"We should probably get out of here," Mochizuki said. "Before anything else shows up."

Ichigo nodded and began to head back to his house. He continued down the road, but noticed that Mochizuki was still following him. "Hey, weren't you going to be with your wife Moe?"

"That was my original intention, yes" Mochizuki said. "However, after this recent turn of events I think I should stick around for a while."

` "And why would that be," Ichigo said.

"You did me a great service Mr. Kurosaki," the spirit responded. "The least I can do is help you in any way I can."

**Great…..** Ichigo thought.** Now I've got to put up with a middle-aged ghost for the rest of the night… **With that, the two strolled through the streets of Kurakara town, heading to the Kurosaki clinic and hopefully avoiding any more unpleasant surprises.

"See, what did I say Yoruichi," Kisuke Urahara said, turning his attention away from the earlier hollow attack. (Even though he was still in the shop, the parties energy had allowed him to sense when the hollow had perished.) "I told you she wouldn't let the boy die."

"Perhaps Urahara," Yoruichi answered from his comfortable position on the cushions. "However, you are missing something."

"Oh yeah," Urahara answered. "What would that be?"

"Can you not sense the energy rapidly moving this way?" Yoruichi said.

"No, why….," Urahara answered, turning his attention to where the fight had been. **Oh shit..** What he sensed was more dangerous than a hundred hollows. He rose quickly to his feet and made as if he was ready to sprint out of the building right then, but before he could, something hit him with the force of a bowling ball.

"What the hell Urahara!," shouted the angered Hiyori, who now had Urahara pinned to the wall by the scruff of his neck. "You wake me up in the middle of the night to go babysit a human!"

"Calm down, Hiyori," Urahara weezed out, breathing was difficult in his current position. "Please let me down off the wall…"

"I will when you answer my damn question!," she shouted back. "Why did you send me out there to watch over a stupid human!"

"He's………… imporantant ," Urahara barely squeaked out.

"What do you mean important!," she shouted again. "Answer me Urahara!" It took her a second or two to realize Urahara's face was turning blue. She sighed and dropped his dead weight onto the floor with a thump. Urahara took in large gulps of air, leaning against the wall for support. "So, why's he so damn important."

After a few seconds, Urahara turned his gaze back to the angered girl. "He has extremely high energy levels for a human being, Hiyori." He stated.

"Yeah, I noticed that much," she said, her annoyance obvious. "He can see and communicate with spirits, what's the big deal?"

"That's just the surface," Urahara said, a smirk growing on his face. "I tested him earlier today, to see just how strong he was. For a brief second, although uncontrolled, his energy was comparable to a soul reapers."

Hiyori laughed at Uraharas statement. "Yeah right, a human with the power of a soul reaper?, you're joking."

Uraharas face became serious as he continued to speak. "No Hiyori, I'm serious." The girls face shifted to confusion, raising an eyebrow at the shopkeeper. "If you don't believe me, just follow that hollows energy." He said as he pointed to her right.

**Damn..** Hiyori thought as her attention turned to the hollow loose in the city. In her angered state, she failed to sense it. She darted out of the shop with the same intense speed as before, pursueing the dangerous spirit.

Urahara watched her leave with a grin on his face. Yoruichi, who had watched the entire conversation asked "Kisuke, did you really since that much power in the boy?"

"Yep," Urahara answered, pulling his hat down over his eyes. "That kid could really help us out in the future."

Ichigo entered the Kurosaki Clinic with a sigh, glad to finally be home after an insane day. "Hey, you're finally home!" his sister, Yuzu said to him. She smiled and jumped off of the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "I'll heat up your dinner for you."

"That'd be great," said Ichigo, plopping himself down on the couch. He looked towards his other sister Karin, who was sitting on a Laz-e-boy and eyeing him suspiciously.

"What's with the funny look,?" Ichigo asked her.

"Brought your ghost friend back with you?," she asked. "That's a first."

"He's more of an annoyance than anything else," Ichigo responded.

"I am right here you know," remarked a miffed Mochizuki.

"What did you have to do this time Ichigo?," Karin asked, flipping through the channels.

"He wanted me to tell his wife that he loved her," said Ichigo.

"Ahhhhh, that's so sweet," Yuzu said. She had just brought Ichigo his tray of food and heard his answer.

"Tch, sounds boring," said Karin.

Ichigo dug in to his food, which was quite delicious. Since his sister had taken on the housekeeping duties, she had become a rather fine cook. As he ate, he was forced to watch his sisters favorite show, Ghost bust. It essentially consisted of an idiot running around old abandoned buildings warding away "ghosts". Ichigo obviously never liked the show too much, seeing as what was being implied on the show was his actual life. **Bastard wouldn't know what to do with a ghost if it slapped him in the face, **thought Ichigo.

"Ohhhhh, my favorite show!," Mochizuki said excitedly. "I haven't seen it since I was alive."

**How about that, even ghosts are fans of that jackass Kanoji…** Ichigo watched as the man with dreadlocks and a cape waved a stick at the air and say "magic words", drawing ohhs and ahhhs from the live crowd. **This is ridiculous** he thought, finishing up his dinner. "Thanks Yuzu," he said, placing his plate in the sink and heading upstairs. He passed his fathers room, hearing his signature snores, and entered his own room. **Im turning in early** he thought, pulling a pillow under his head. It wasn't long before he fell into a light doze. Mochizuki was still downstairs watching Ghost bust.

Suddenly, a loud crash comes from downstairs, awakening Ichigo. "AHHHHHH!," he heard his sisters cry out from downstairs.

"KARIN!, YUZU!," he shouted, sprinting out of room and past his still sleeping fathers door. As Ichigo reached the bottom floor, he sighted what had caused the noise. It was a hollow. It's appearance was similar to the one from before, large body, white mask, and arms as thick as tree trunks, but to make matters worse, this one held his sisters in its hands. "Let them go!," Ichigo shouted to it.

"hmmmm,?" the hollow mumbled, turning towards the boy. "You smell delicious boy, you must be the one I sensed earlier." It opened its gaping jaws and ran its tounge over rows of razor-like teeth. "These two seem to hold some energy as well, but your'e just gushing with it."

"I'll kill you!," an enraged Ichigo shouted to the evil spirit. As before, his energy began to manifest itself as a light blue light.

"Kill me?," the hollow said, mocking Ichigo. It switched both of his sisters into his right hand. "I'll crush you boy!" It reared back and launched its left fist at Ichigo, planning to flatten him, the force of it sending up large amounts of dust and debris."

"Ichigo!," his sisters shouted in unison, scared for their brother life.

"heh heh heh," the Hollow laughed. "Your soul will be exquisite." He waited for the dust to clear, eagerly awaiting the carnage that was sure to reveal itself, however what greeted his eyes was not what he expected. "Wha…what?!," it cried in disbelief. Ichigo stood at the end of the hollows arm, he had caught its fist and stopped it with brute strength. His only scratches were caused from the shrapnel caused by the punches force. The hollow retracted his arm and glanced towards the boy in shock. **How the hell?** "You surprise me boy, but that attack was nothing."

Ichigo was now emitting energy like a volcano, it erupted from all sides, making him appear as if he was glowing. He ran forward quickly, to quickly for the hollow to react to, and planted a punch into its gut. It grunted and swatted at Ichigo like a fly, connecting and sending him flying out into the street. He recovered and charged again, dodging his next attack, and jumping to connect a kick with its jaw. The hollow stumbled back, leaving itself open fore attack, Ichigo saw the opening and charged.

"Stop!," the hollow shouted. Ichigo ignored its cries and continued, but stopped when he saw what it was doing. The hollow was squeezing his sisters to death in its hands. "Make one more and I'll crush them," it said with a chuckle.

"You bastard!," Ichigo shouted to his sisters tormentor, thoroughly enraged.

"I must admit, you surprise me human," it said to Ichigo, gradually approaching him. "You three should fill me right up."

Ichigo only responded with a growl of frustration at his helplessness. **Damn him, if I move they die…….what should I do…**

"Now you stand right there," the hollow said as it raised its massive arm again. "I will crush you and devour your soul. If you move I will simply crush your sisters and devour theirs……its your choice."

Ichigo watched helplessly as the hollow brought its arm down like a hammer, and he was the nail. **Karin….Yuzu…..I'm sorry I couldn't save you. **He closed his eyes and awaited his impending doom, but was surprised when it didn't come. **What? **He opened his eyes and was shocked at what he saw. The girl from before, Hiyori, was standing before him, blocking the hollows fist with her sword.

"What?," the hollow shouted angrily. "Don't interfere human!"

"Die," responded Hiyori. She disappeared from under the hollows fist and reappeared by its shoulder. The hollow had barely enough time to turn its head. It released a muffled sound in its throat and the words Soul Reaper flashed across its mind. HIyori brought her sword down at an angle and split the hollows mask in two, causing it to scream in agony.

It dropped Yuzu and Karin, but Ichigo sped forward and caught them before they hit the ground. He saw that they were now unconscious and placed them gently on the ground and checked for any injuries. Behind him, the hollow was now disintegrating into nothing more than dust. When Ichigo saw that his sisters hadn't suffered anything but some minor bruises, he turned around to face Hiyori. She was the first to speak, "Are you insane as well as stupid!," she shouted to him. "You can't take on a hollow unarmed!"

"Well excuse me for trying to protect my sisters!," Ichigo shouted back in response.

"By doing something that's bound to get you killed?!," she said. "I'm sure they'd love that."

"It's my job!," Ichigo shouted angrily. "I'm their big brother, do you know what that means!"

"What?" Hiyori responded.

"Big brothers come first to protect those who follow them!," he shouted.

HIyori stood in silence after Ichigo's answer, unable to come up with a retort. **He's so dedicated to his sisters, that he would fight a hollow alone and unarmed… **She sighed "Look, big brother," she said. "As long as you can't control your energy, you'll keep drawing hollows to you."

Ichigo eyes widened and turned to his sisters. "You mean…"

"Yeah, the longer you go without getting it under control, the more you endanger both you and your sisters," said Hiyori as she sheathed her sword and turned away from Ichigo, preparing to head back to the shop.

Ichigo looked at his unconscious sisters, worry crossing his face. **I have to do it** he thought **To protect them from those things.** "HIyori," he said.

She looked back at Ichigo "what?"

"I'll be there tomorrow."


	5. redhead

_I do not own bleach or anything related to it, don't sue me._

"So, they're some kind of evil spirits,?" a shaky Yuzu asked Ichigo, she was still frightened from the earlier escapades.

"Yeah," answered Ichigo. "All I know is that they seem to be drawn to me for some reason."

"I don't believe it," Karin said from her recliner, where she had resumed watching television.

"But how Karin?," Ichigo asked her, confused. "It had you in it's hands!"

"I'm in permanent denial," she responded.

"But you were speaking to Moe earlier!," Yuzu interjected.

**Moe…** Ichigo thought. **Some help he was….I found him cowering in the downstairs closet.**

"I never said he existed…," Karin said, changing the channels. "Besides, what we should be worried about is the gaping hole in the wall, how are we going to explain that to dad?"

"Tell him a truck hit the house," Mochizuki said, cautiously drifting into the room. "I remember that it sounded something like that."

"That's actually not a bad idea Moe….," Ichigo said, "Yuzu, go wake dad and tell him a truck hit the house."

"Ok," she responded, bouding up the stairs.

After she woke him up, their father came down the stairs and did anything a normal parent would do, fret over their childrens safety, cuss whoever the "goddamned drunk" was, and call the police. Ichigo stood with his father and told the policeman the made up story about the truck colliding with the side of the building. "….and then I came down here and it was gone."

"How did you know it was a truck if it was gone when you came down," the policeman asked.

"Uh…my sisters saw it, not me," Ichigo responded.

"May I speak to them?," the inquisitive cop asked.

"No, they're asleep," Ichigo said bluntly

"They're testimony might be important, please go get them," the policeman said.

**Come on…he's too suspicious **Ichigo thought. 'Fine, I'll go ask them. Ichigo headed upstairs to his sisters room and entered. As suspected, Yuzu was sleeping, but Karin was not."

"What are you up to?," she asked

"Policeman wants a description of the truck, and I said you saw it," Ichigo answered.

"Give him something generic, so he won't be able to isolate some random innocent guy." She said.

"Thanks Karin," he said, turning to leave the room so he could give the policeman a generic description.

"Ichigo," Ichigo heard his name and turned around to see his sister looking at him. "You're going somewhere tomorrow aren't you?"

"Well…I," Ichigo stammered, shocked that she knew.

"I heard you talking with someone before I passes out completely," she said. "I just want to know where."

"Nowhere far away Karin," Ichigo answered. "I might be gone for a few days, but I wont be leaving the city." She seemed satisfied with the answer, so Ichigo left the room and headed downstairs, barely hearing his sisters last 'good luck.' He reached downstairs and explained everything to the police officer. Afterwards, he told his dad he was going to sleep and went to his room to prepare for the unknowns of the following day.

Since, he wasn't going to school today, he had forgone his usual school uniform for an orange t-shirt, a small black jacket and black jeans. As Ichigo approached the shop, the first thing he saw was the bright red hair of a certain broom wielding ruffian from the day before. Ichigo suppressed his desire to punt the kid and instead called out "Hey, is the guy with the hat in today."

The red head took a glance towards him and pointed inside. "Should be in the back with the others."

**Others?** Ichigo thought, passing the kid. **Who alls back there? **He entered the shop and found it to be the same as before. A clutter of boxes and crates with a register barely visible against the back wall. He continued into the shop and passed through a doorway into what seemed like the backroom. **Noones here….** He glanced around and tried to find someone, but only saw more and more dusty bins and crates. He headed out the way he came and turned back to the red head. "Noones in there," he said "did they leave for something?"

"No, their back there alright." He responded.

"Well, I just came from back there and I didn't see anything." Said Ichigo

"tch, you wouldn't," the kid said

"And why would that be," asked Ichigo, annoyance building in his voice.

"I haven't let you back there yet," the kid said with a sneaky grin.

"Well let me back there," Ichigo said.

"Nah, I don't really feel like it,"

"You brat!," Ichio shouted. "I finally show up like you've been wanting me to, and now you won't let me in!"

" Urahara may have wanted to speak to you," he began, "but frankly, I don't give a damn." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single iron key. "However , this is the key to where Urahara is. To get it, you'll have to beat me."

"Beat you?!," Ichigo said. "At what, rock-paper-scissors, checkers, or whatever else you kids play?" **Please, what do I have to beat the kid at, this should be simple…**

"None of the above," the boy said. "We'll be playing something much more fun." He placed one of his hands behind his back. As he curled his fingers together, red light began to appear around his hand.

"Oh yeah," Ichigo said saccastically. "And what would that be."

The boy's grip tightened and the light took on the shape of a sphere in the palm of his hand. "DODGEBALL!," he threw the energy ball at Ichigo who just barely managed to dodge.

** What the hell…** thought Ichigo. **Did he just throw a damn fireball?**

"Surprised, aren't yah,?" the boy said with a smirk. He generated another ball of light and tossed it playfully up and down. "You see, your not the only human with spirit power."

**So, he's making those things with that "energy" everyone keeps mentioning… ** "So, what am I supposed to do?", Ichigo asked. "Make one and bean you with it?"

"Tch, not likely," the boy responded. "You can't even control it, much less shape it. Tell you what, if you can touch me in the next ten minutes, I'll give you the key."

"Easy enough," Ichigo mumbled, dashing towards the smirking boy. His smirk dissapeaeed however, when his target disappeared.

"Over here Carrot top!," he heard from behind him. He quickly turned to see the kid directly behind him, his arm mid-throw. Ichigo dodged the blast at the last second, it narrowly missing his head.

"How did you get behind me!," Ichigo shouted at the boy.

"With the speed you move with, a snail could creap around you," he responded. He disappeared instantly, only to reappear behind the teen. "You'll never catch me with a humans speed." He gripped the red ball tightly and threw it a Ichigo's exposed back.

Ichigo grunted in pain and fell to the ground in front of him, his back slightly smoking after the impact. **What the…..that….hurt**

"That's strike one," the boy said to Ichigo's prone figure. "I suggest you find your power…." He checked a watch on his left hand. "……some time in the next eight minutes." Ichigo shakily stood and turned back towards the boy. "Ah, so your still standing……..good, we can play some more." Quick as a flash, another ball was created and thrown at the Ichigo. He again dodged, but was faster than before.

"Look kid, I don't want to hurt you," Ichigo said, anger in his voice. He ducked to avoid another ball and rushed the kid. "But I will if you make me!" He saw the boy disappear and instinctivelyabout-faced, bringing his leg around with him at the boys head hight. **Gotcha! **

The boys eyes widened at Ichigos quick reaction, pulling his head back and barely avoiding Ichigos speeding foot. Seeing the boy was now off-balance, Ichigo planted his feet and charged again, attempting to land a hit and when he disappeared again, Ichigo again turned to face him, even faster than before, but the boy wasn't there. "Please, I'm not that predicatable." Ichigo looked up to see his target in the air above him, arm pulled back to fire. He didn't have time to react, as a second ball of energy impacted, this time on his face. His body again collapsed to the ground face first, much to the boys amusement. "Strike two," He settled on top of a nearby barrel and glanced at the prone teenager with some annoyance. "Maybe Urahara was wrong about you….you don't seem so special to me."

Ichigo's ears pricked up at the mention of the shopkeepers name. He stood and without looking at the boy asked "Was he the one who told you to do this?"

"Well, duh," the boy answered. "He is my boss.

"Why?," an obviously angry Ichigo replied.

"He thinks you're special," the boy answered, leaping down from his perch and preparing for another attack. "He wanted me to test you."

**Test?!** Ichigos fists clenched as he anger grew.

"But, you'll never get that far anyway," the kid said, readying another attack. "Because you can't even get by me!" He disappeared, attempting to again sneak attack, but was stopped in mid-air and sent flying backwards into the fence. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ichigo standing where he had been before, but this time there was something different about him. There was a blue aura of energy surrounding him, causing the loose wnds of his clothes to move as if a strong wind was sweeping through the alley. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw before him, **where did that come from!......theres no way he's human. **

Ichigo relaxed and his surrounding glow disappeared, "I hit you….now give me the damn key."

The boy fished around in his pocket until he found the iron key from before. He tossed it to Ichigo, who caught it adeptly from the air. Ichigo turned to go inside and the boy stood, watching him enter. **Maybe Urahara was right…..maybe this guy is………oh krap! **He frantically looked around at all the broken fence boards and boxes. **I'm gonna have to clean all of this!**

**That son of a Bitch…** Ichigo thought as he walked back into the backroom of the shop. He looked around for a key hole and eventually found one on the floor. **A trap door? Wonder what's down there… ** He opened the door to find a ladder leading down…waaaay down. However what he found most interesting was the fact that it seemd that light was coming out of the hole, and dirt seemed to be on the ground. He leaned in closer to get a better view when the unexpected happened, he lost his balance. **Oh shi… **Ichigo fell headfirst into the hole, screaming as he watched the ground before him rapidly approach. **Wait a second! My energy….if I could just… **Ichigo looked inside himself and attempted to find it, but to no avail. **Come on, come on, COME ON!!** He hit the groun like a meteor, sending dirt and debris everywhere. **I didn't feel any pain…..am I dead?** Ichigo hesitated before realizing he could open his eyes. When he did, he saw that he was unscathed and the aura from before was again surrounding him. "I did it!"

"Kind of a flashy entrance, but effective," he heard a familier voice say from behind him. He turned to see Urahara ( the man with the striped bucket hat), Hiyori (The girl from the night before), another younger girl with absurd bangs, and a large man wearing glasses. "Welcome to my secret underground training facility where…" Ichigo sped forward and smacked him across the head.

"WELCOME!," Ichigo shouted angrily. I finally accept your offer, and when I do, I'm greeted by the fireball throwing red-headed wonder child, and don't even think I didn't notice that spring in the board….you wanted me to fall into that hole!"

"Maybe that was just a tad bit extreme," Urahra said, rubbing the side of his head. "But I had to test you, to see where you're at. I wouldn't have let you fall to your death….that wouldn't help at all." The shopkeeper stood back up and turned towards Ichigo. "I must say I came away impressed, every time you bring it out it's stronger than before."

"By it, I'm assuming you mean my power," Ichigo stated.

"Exactly," replied Urahara. "You see, I've helped people like you before, but you are by far the strongest. He began to root around in a nearby bag, finally pulling out a strange looking machine."I want to ask you to do something for me."

Ichigo looked skeptically at the machine before answering, "and what would that be?"

Urahara pulled out a microphone and handed it to Ichigo. "This is a machine that reads your energy and translates it into a sort of code. With it, I can tell you a lot more about it."

Ichigo searched the microphone over. 'What kind of things?"

"Ancestry, level , type, that sort of thing." Urahara responded, fiddling with some sort of knob on the side of the machine. "Now, all I need for you to do is say miay aay igbay diotiay once for me."

…**the hell? **"And why should I," Ichigo asked.

"Because if you do, it makes my job easier." Urahara answered. "Just say it, I promise if you do, you'll learn to control yourself quicker."

'Fine…fine……miay aay igbay diotay," he handed the microphone back to Urahara. "There, you satisfied?"

"Yes I am," Urahara answered, gathering everything back into his bag. "Now I've got to go analyze this." He began to walk away, but stopped and turned around. "Ahh, yes, I almost forgot."

**Forgot what?...** Ichigo thought, silently dreading the answer.

"Ururu do you mind taking this one?," he asked the small girl with the crazy bangs.

"No, I don't mind," she answered. "Do you want for me to use the cannon?"

**Cannon! **Ichigo thought **What the hell is going on?**

"Yeah, make him suppress it," Urahra said. Ichigo watched him move like a blur away and up the stairs. When he turned around he saw Ururu with a large shoulder mounted rocket launcher.

"Ready when you are mister,"


	6. The truth

_**Sorry for the long wait for the upload, but I've been sick. Exams haven't helped either though. Alright, I have a question. I'm not really sure what I should do with Mochizuki and I'd like to hear what you guys think, so if anyone has an opinion on the matter, please leave it in the reviews. **_

**Well it's about time** thought Kisuke Urahara. The ear-piercing whine of the analyzer was to signify it had finished analyzing the data.

"I hate that machine," an annoyed Yoruichi said from his cushioned space. "It always wakes me up from my naps." He turned his head to see Kisuke glancing at the paper the machine had spit out. "So, what are they results Kisuke; Is he who you think he is?"

The wily shopkeeper grinned and turned to his feline companion. "Well, if you're asking if he isn't entirely human…..than yes."

"What is that supposed to mean?" said Yoruichi, annoyed at comment. "Wasn't that what you did the whole test for?"

"Correct," responded Kisuke. "They did show that he wasn't entirely human, but I did not expect him to be part soul reaper..."

"A soul reaper?" Yoruichi eyes widened and he quickly leapt to his feet. "We must get him out of here Kisuke!"

"Settle down Yoruichi," Urahara said as he walked towards the ladder that led to the underground training facility. "I really don't think this one will give us any trouble."

"What do you mean Urahara!?," Yoruichi said. "You know what would happen if they found us here!"

Urahara stopped at the top of the ladder and turned around to face the cat. He walked over to Yoruichi and held the paper so the cat could see what was on it. "Just look at this."

Feline eyes widened at the name printed on the results.

**WILL THIS DAMN THING EVER RUN OUT OF AMMO?! **Ichigo thought to himself as he dodged another of Ururu's rockets. The aura that manifested itself when he was fighting Jinta had resurfaced and Ichigo was dodging the rockets with relative ease. **They're easy enough to dodge……but they're locked on to me somehow. **If they missed, the rockets would just take a turn and come after him again. As he was preparing to dodge again, an idea occurred to him. Ichigo braced himself and lashed out at the incoming projectile with his fist. **With this new power, I'm stronger and faster than before…..i'll just break them! **

"Uh-oh, you shouldn't have touched it Mr," the little girl said to her target.

Ichigo turned to her with a grin and said "Why, you afraid I'll break your toy?"

"No," she responded flatly. "But it might break you…"

Ichigo looked at her with a puzzled expression. **What could she mean….** He was shaken out of his thought when he felt a surge of heat from the rocket he had caught in his hand. **What the…** his thought was broken as the captured missile exploded in his hands, resulting in a massive explosion. After the smoke cleared, a blackened Ichigo lifted himself off the ground and glared at his assailant.

" You see Mr.," Ururu began to explain. "This weapon latches on to your energy like a heat seeking missile. As long as your emitting it, they will come after you……..so grabbing it is not a good idea. However,…….avoiding them should be easy though, just suppress your energy.

"Don't you think I would have done that if I knew how!," Ichigo shouted back. "Do you just expect me to figure it out on the fly!"

"You brought it out when you beat Jinta, right?," she answered. "So, why not do what you did then in reverse?"

"Well I!...," Ichigo began. **That's not a bad idea….** He closed his eyes and began to think on how it was he brought it out in the first place. **It used to only surface when it needed to….but back there it must have been voluntary…** He leapt to avoid another rocket, this one barely noticed from the corner of his eye. **Damn…looks like she not letting up on those attacks of hers anytime soon… **

**What the hell is he doing..** Hiyori thought, watching Ichigos never ending attempts at evading the energy-seeking rockets. **How can this abnormal human help us at all….just look at him.** She continued to watch his attempts until he had the idea to snatch them out of the air. She drove her palm into her forhead in frustration, hearing the explosion seconds later.

Urahra appeared beside her and began to watch Ichigos struggle."Don't be so disgruntled HIyori," he said. "Just give him a little time."

"Time?," she responded. "He can't even push his energy down,."

"Well, if you remember it was only a few days ago that he didn't even know he had it," Urahara said. "Just be patient."

"Whatever you say 'captain'," she said sarcastically.

Kisuke reached into a pocket in his coat and pulled out the printed results of the earlier test. "Take a look at this," he said as he handed it to his annoyed assistant.

She rolled her eyes and read the name on the results. Her eyes bolted open and she turned back to the shopkeeper with a shocked expression. "You're kidding me right? There's no way this kid is one of them."

"The test doesn't lie Hiyori," the shopkeeper responded, adjusting his hat. "I guess this explains where Isshins been all these years…"

**Damn…..why is this so difficult? **Ichigo thought, diving to avoid another speeding missile. **The reverse…..the reverse…..how do I do this. **He leapt over another and ducked to avoid its return attempt. Ichigo, lost in thought had failed to see the pattern he had trapped himself in. Rockets were now closing in on him from all sides, there was nowhere for him to run. **Nowhere to go! **He thought frantically. **Come on….come on….That's it! **The swarm of rockets collided with a massive explosion, sending dust and debris soaring into the air.

"Oh no I killed him!," said a dismayed Ururu.

Urahara smirked and pointed into the middle of the rising cloud of dust. "Don't worry Ururu, he just managed to pull his power back in." **Smart kid….he's catching on fast.** Sure enough, Ichigo stood up from behind a boulder. "Good call to dive behind cover kid."

"I have a name…..don't call me kid." Ichigo said.

"I'm sure you do kid," Urahara said, leaping down from his seat to stand face to face with Ichigo. "But is it your real name?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean," Ichigo responded. "Of course it's my real name."

"Just because you're called something doesn't mean its your name," said Urahara.

"You know…..your really starting to piss me off," Ichigo said obviously irritated at the shopkeeper's antics.

"Tell me…is your father's name Isshin?," Urahara said.

Ichigos eyes widened at the statement. "How do you know that?"

"Well, it's probably best to start from the beginning," said Urahara. "Please, take a seat." Ichigo gladly did, so far the days events had worn him out. Urahara also sat down across from Ichigo and adjusted his hat before speaking. "To begin with, your father and I used to work together."

"You worked with my dad?" Ichigo asked. "I really can't see you as a docter….in fact the thought frightens me a little…"

Urahara chuckled before answering. "I should have known he wouldn't have told you….still it would make what's coming easier to say."

"Can we just get to the point already," Ichigo asked.

"Yes, yes," Urahara answered. "You see, Hiyori,the big guy, and I are all spirits….very few people can actually see us. You, Ururu, and Jinta are among the few that can."

"Well I guess that makes sense……..hold on a minute….how could you work with my dad if you're a spirit?" Ichigo said. "He can't see them, only me and my sisters can."

"Well kid, at one time he could see us easily enough," Urahara responded. "It would have been strange if he couldn't, seeing as he was one."

"My father a spirit?," Ichigo asked sarcastically. "There's no way, he interacts with ordinary people every day in the infirmary."

"I said he was kid," Urahara replied. "Now he's in something called a gigai that allows him to interact with the living world. As a side-effect however, he has lost his ability see spirits….among other things.."

"Right…," ichigo said disbelieving. "Let's say I believe you…..how did he work with you then?"

"As you no doubt already know, when a person dies their spirit leaves the body and passes on. However, for them to do so they need certain spirits called soul reapers to assist them. They assist the souls in passing on and fight off those nasty hollows with one of these." Urahara reached into his pocket and pulled out another one of the small cube shaped objects. He tapped it like before, only instead of a chair a sword appeared in his hand. It was a simple blade and had no distinguishing characteristics. "It's a zanpakto ,a soul cutting sword used to kill hollows or spirits. Your father and I were both such soul reapers, although then he went by the name Isshin Shiba."

"Well then what happened?" Ichigo asked the shopkeeper. "Why aren't you both still soul reapers?"

"I have my reasons and so does he," Urahara said defensively. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it further.

Ichigo looked at the shopkeeper for a few more seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny boss?," Ururu asked, walking over to the two.

"I'm serious kid, I'm telling you this because we could use your help," Urahara said to Ichigo.

"Yeah right, so I'm just supposed to believe that my father was some spirit floating around killing hollows that one day just decided to enter some gigai thing so he could live among people?," Ichigo said after he finished laughing.

"Your Isshins son all right, your just as stubborn as he was," a previously unheard male voice said.

Ichigo looked down to see the black cat from the other day staring at him. "Let me guess…you knew him too?" he said to Yoruichi.

"I knew him yes," Yoruichi said. "In fact, I knew him back when I was a child, long before he joined the soul reapers. He was born the eldest son of one of the three noble families in the soul society."

"Soul society?," Ichigo asked.

"Where spirits 'pass on' to I suppose," the cat responded. "We knew each other well as children, I was born to another of the noble families." After hearing the cats words, Ichigo laughed again and began making his way to the ladder leading back to the shop. "Hey!, where are you going?," Yoruichi called to Ichigo.

"This whole story has been entertaining, but I've got to get home," he yelled back at them.

"But it's true, you need training!," Yoruichi shouted back at him.

"FOR WHAT!," Ichigo yelled back angrily. "I never agreed to anything, I came to learn to control my energy and I did so now I'm leaving."

"LISTEN YOU LI..!," an angered Hiyori began, but was silenced by Urahara.

"Ichigo!," he shouted to the retreating teenager, who stopped and turned back with a surprised expression. "Take this with you!," the shopkeeper shouted, tossing the sheathed zanpakto to Ichigo. The boy caught it and gave Urahara a questioning look. "It's a training blade," Urahara yelled to him. "Hold on to it, it might come in handy."

Ichigo stared at the sword for a while before looking back to the shopkeeper and shouting "thanks"….**I guess. **He climbed up the ladder and headed back out of the shop, passing a now busy Jinta.

"What the?," the red-headed boy said. "What did you do for the boss to give you a zanpakto? Dammit, I've been here for two years and you get one in a day!"

Ichigo toned out the rest of the boys ranting as he continued to walk towards the end of the alleyway. **Damn that kid pisses me off… **Ichigo glanced around, trying to find a clock. He found one in a shop window which only read two-thirty pm. **Good, I've only been gone four hours…..guess that means dad won't attack me again when I get home. **As he continued down the sidewalk, Ichigo began to notice people giving him funny looks. He wondered why until remembering he was now carrying a sword around with him. **Oh right….. **

"Hey Ichigo!," a familier voice called to him from behind. He turned to see a girl about his age with short dark hair trying to catch up to him. She was dressed in a long sleeve purple shirt and denim Capri pants.

"What's up Tatsuki," he said after she had caught up. Tatsuki was in the same class as Ichigo and had practically grown up with him ever since they had met at kung-fu lessons.

"Not much Ichigo, just running some errands…..woah, is that a sword!," She said, pointing towards Ichigos zanpakto.

"Yeah," Ichigo responded. "I just got from…a friend."

"Really?," Tatsuki asked. "I never took you for the type to practice swordplay.."

"Well uh…you see," Ichigo mumbled.

"Oh I get it!," Tatsuki said with a grin. "Your finally admitting you'll never beat me with hand to hand combat, so your taking up kendo!"

"Yes, that," Ichigo replied. **That was close… **

"Well it's about time," she said. "I am the second strongest fighter in Japan for my weight class after all."

"Oh yeah we…," Ichigo began, but he stopped as a ear wrenching shriek filled the air. **That sound….a hollow…it's sounds like its near the park. **

"hhmm? What is it Ichigo?," Tatsuki asked.

"I've got to go to the park…..now," he said, quickly glancing at his zanpakto. "I guess I'll see you tomarrow Tat…."

"Alright, I'll guess we'll race their then," Tatsuki said before taking off in the direction of the park.

"Tatsuki!.....dammit."


	7. Past and Present

_**Hey! 6 reviews is the most I've gotten yet for a chapter. No one gave an opinion last chapter so I'll ask it again, What do you guys think I should do with Mochizuki? Oh, and just to clear some things up, bold text is thought and italics would be a memory/flashback.**_

Kisuke Urahara pulled himself back up the ladder and into his shop, heading for his comfortable lounge chair. As he entered the back room he considered his "office", he saw Yoruichi staring off into space on his cushions. "Thinking about the past?," he asked his feline friend.

"That name brings back memories Kisuke," the cat responded.

"It sure does," Urahara said, taking a seat in his recliner. "The kid explains a lot too…. I guess he's why Isshin disappeared like that."

"Why'd you lie to the boy about his father Kisuke?," Yoruichi asked, turning back to the lazy shopkeeper. "He deserves to know the truth."

"Think about it Yoruichi," Urahara answered. "He's already dealing with enough right now, besides Isshin probably has a reason for not telling him."

"You're probably right," Yoruichi sighed.

"Hey, you remember the day we met him?," Urahara asked.

Yoruichi chuckled and turned back to her old friend. "Of course, how could I ever forget it." Yoruichi said, the cats mind drifting into the past.

_"Ahhhh, c'mon Gate keeper let me pass!," a disgruntled boy complained to the gates guardian. He appeared fairly young, akin to the appearance of a human ten year-old. He had shoulder-length light blonde hair and wore the clothes of a commoner._

_"You are of the Rukongai and as such, I cannot let you pass," the giant standing before the gate responded. _

_"C'mon Jidanbo, you've let me by before," the young boy said._

_"That may be so, however your escort is absent today," the large gatekeeper said. "Without someone from the Sereitei acting as escort, I can't let you in."_

_"You know I'm a friend of princess Yoruichi, isn't that enough to let me in?," the boy asked._

_"Well… that is true..," Jidanbo began, apparently now deep in thought. _

_"Out of the way commoner!," a loud voice said from behind the boy. He turned to see who it was, but was shoved to the ground from behind._

_"Hey! Watch where you going!," he shouted in protest, spitting dirt out of his mouth. He turned to face his assailant and his eyes widened at the sight. There were four men in standard bodyguard uniform armed with swords. What caught the boys eye however, was the crest on their shoulders, the crest of the Kuchiki clan._

_"Men check it out, we've got a mouthy one here," one guardsaid to the others._

_"Really now?," one said to the others. "Well kid, you know what happens to loudmouth peasants around here?," He said to the boy, cracking his fists._

_The boy, realizing he was in danger, began thinking fast. "Who me?, Now why would a big strong guy like yourself want to punish me?" He said, faking a grin. "I'm sure you have much much more important things to do with your time."_

_"Well now that you mention it, I do…..," the guard began, placing his hand on his chin. "HEY, wait a minute! Are you making fun of me?"_

_"NO, no not at all sir," he said, waving his hands in front of him. "I would never insult a prestigious man such as yourself."_

_"You little brat!," the now angry guard shouted. "I'm going to teach you some manners!" He reared back to throw a punch, growling in fury. The young boy just braced himself and slammed his eyes shut, anticipating the blow…_

_"Stop!," a previously unheard voice shouted at the pair. They both opened their eyes and turned to see another boy, this one slightly older and with brown hair._

_"Hmmph," the guard said. "He turned back to the surprised boy. "A friend of yours?"_

_"I…uh…I've never," he began to respond._

_"ANSWER ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!," the guard shouted again. After failing to receive a response, he looked over his shoulder at his companions and nodded toward the new boy. "Get that one for me," He turned back to the blonde one. "Watch this, we'll deal with your 'buddy' over there."_

_The three guardsmen approached the one youth with deadly grins. "Oh, you're going to pay for not minding your own damn business boy." The kid seemed unfazed, a smirk visible on his face. _

_As they creeped closer, the boys eyes turned to the rooftops. His smirk began a wide smile. "Now Kaien!," he shouted. A smaller boy with pitch black shot to his feet on a nearby rooftop, he had a big grin and was carrying a large box._

"_Take this you tightwads!," the small boy shouted, pulling out a small ball with a fuse. _

"_YAAAHH," the guards shouted. "He's got a bomb!" The boy started to light the fuses and hurl them from the rooftops. As they hit the ground, the balls burst in bright explosions and dazzling colors. The older boy took advantage of the chaos and ran forward to the blond boy who was mesmerized by the fireworks bright colors._

"_C'mon let's get out of here," the dark headed boy shouted to the blonde over the roar of the fireworks. The blonde boy shook his head and nodded, turning to run from the chaotic scene._

"_Look out below," Kaien shouted, leaping from the rooftop and onto the dark haired boy back. "Let's move!, I just dropped a match in the box and threw it!"_

_The older boys' eyes widened, and he turned towards the giant Jidanbo, who was now laughing uproariously at the scene before. "Jidanbo open the gate!" _

"_Yes, young master Isshin," the giant said between fits of laughter, bending down to lift up the gate. The trio rushed through the small opening, Kaien riding on Isshin's back and the blond boy following close behind. _

_As they heard the gate fall behind them, they all fell on the ground in laughter. "Did you see their faces?," Isshin said, wiping his now tearing eyes. _

_After recovering from the laughing fit, the blonde boy stood and turned to face Isshin. "Thanks for helping me out back there."_

"_Oh, it's nothing," the youngest boy said. "We love screwing around with Kuchiki's guards." _

"_You like messing with them?," the blonde boy said in disbelief. "They can have you killed for that kind of thing."_

"_Tch, no they can't," Isshin said. "We rank higher than them, we're sons of the Shiba clan._

"_Yeah!, check out my Shiba tattoo!," the little Kaien said, pulling up his sleeve to reveal the sign of the shiba clan on his arm._

"_You drew that with a pencil Kaien," his older brother, Isshin said. He turned from his brothers display to see the young blond on his hands and knees. He rolled his eyes and said "Don't do that kid, we don't expect that from people like those pompous Kuchiki's do."_

_The blonde quickly shot to his feet and began rubbing the back of his head. "Well that's a relief, I thought I disrespected another noble house in the same day." The boy extended his hand to Isshin with a smile, my names Kisuke Urahara."_

_Isshin shook the boys hand and returned the grin. "Well, you already know me and my kid brother's names." _

_While the two older boys were exchanging pleasantries, the younger Shiba was glancing around, trying to find a clock. He spotted one and pulled his brothers sleeve. "Brother! The exhibitions still not for two hours!"_

"_Really?," Isshin responded. "I hoped that fun with the guards would have burned more time than that.."_

"_Exhibition?," Kisuke asked, curious._

"_You haven't heard?," Isshin answered. "Soul Reaper Captain Yamamoto is giving an exhibition today on zanpakutos. There's even a rumor going around that he's going to give some big announcement today too."_

"_General Yamamoto!," Kisuke said. "Can I come with you, I've never seen a soul reaper in action before."_

"_Sure, I guess," Isshin said. "But, we're going to need to find something to do for the next two hours.."_

"_I have a friend who might want to go with us," Kisuke said. "She lives around here, going and getting her would take a little while."_

"_You have a friend in the Sereitei?," Isshin questioned. _

"_I sure do," Kisuke answered. "Yoruichi Shihoin."_

_Isshin's jaw dropped at the response. "You know Yoruichi Shihoin?!? …..princess of the Tenshiheisoban?!?,"_

"_Sure do," Kisuke said smugly._

"_Brother like her," Kaien quipped in, receiving a blow to the head from Isshin. "OWWW."_

"_Shut up Kaien!, "Isshin said. "He doesn't need to know that."_

"_So should we see if she wants to go?," Kisuke asked, trying not to laugh._

"_Why not?," Isshin answered after coughing into his fist. _

"_Well then, follow me," Kisuke answered, taking off in the direction of the mansion. _

"_Right," Isshin answered, starting off after him. _

_After a while he heard "Brother! Wait up!," from behind him. __**Whoops…..forgot Kaien**__ He stopped and when Kaien reached him, he lifted his younger brother onto his back and started off again, having to speed up to catch back up with Kisuke. After awhile, the group came up on a large, heavily ornate mansion which no doubt belonged to a very rich family._

_"Here we are, Shihoin manner," Kisuke said. "Now we need to sneak around the back, so we can climb up a window.."_

_"Not necessary," said Isshin. He walked up to the gate, but was stopped by an armed guard._

_"State your name and business," he said to the trio._

_"We're here to see Princess Yoruichi," Kisuke said._

_The two guards eyed the group suspiciously before answering. "Yeah I'm sure you are, however we can't allow children off the street to just walk in."_

_Isshin pulled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of the Shiba family crest. "We're here on official business." He said, his face appearing serious._

_The guards eyes widened at the seal. "Sorry young masters, it won't happen again." They turned, unlocked the gate, and opened it so the trio could pass through._

_"Thanks guys," Isshin said as he passed them._

_When they were out of earshot, Kisuke turned to Isshin. "That was awesome, can you do that wherever you want?"_

_Isshin dropped the serious expression and chuckled. "Pretty much, but I don't like to push people around with my rank, it makes me feel like one of those Kuchiki blowhards."_

_"Excuse me young sirs," a elderly man dressed in fine robes said to the group. "How may I assist you?"_

_"Tell Yoruichi that Kisuke needs to ask her something," Kisuke told the finely dressed man. He nodded and turned to head down a hallway. "Well, that was easier than I thought." While waiting, the group all took seats on the various luxurious chairs throughout the sitting room. _

_Before long, the elderly man re-entered the room. He extended his arm and said "Presenting Yoruichi Shihoin, princess of the tenshiheisoban." After this, a young girl walked into the room. She had dark skin which contrasted with her lightly colored kimono. Ornate combs covered in various precious stones held up her violet hair, however her most obvious feature was the look of annoyance on her face._

"_Kusami, how many times have I told asked you not to use my title to introduce me," she almost shouted at the elderly man. "It's just Yoruichi!" _

"_Yes madam, I apologize," Kusami said with a bow. _

"_So what's up Kisuke?," she said turning to him. "You said there was something you needed to ask me?"_

"_Yeah, you wanna go see Captain Yamamoto's exhibition?" Kisuke asked._

"_Yamamoto's having an exhibition!," she said excitedly. "Of course I want to go!" She then turned to look at the other two boys, Kaien looking back with a smile, while Isshin suddenly found the ground very interesting. "And who are you two?"_

"_My name's Kaien Shiba," the youngest brother stated. "And this is my brother! I think he like yo……OWWW." He said, receiving another blow to the head from Isshin._

"_Uh… I'm Isshin," he managed to say weakly._

"_You're Shibas?," she asked. "Well, I guess that explains how you just walked in instead of Kisuke climbing up the wall and scaring the hell out of me." Kisuke laughed at the comment, but Isshin continued to stare at the floor. _

"_These two helped me get past the gatekeeper," Kisuke said. _

"_Jidanbo wouldn't let you in again?," Yoruichi asked._

"_Yeah, but that was only half the problem," Kisuke explained. "You see, I ran into some of the Kuchuki guards outside the gate."_

"_Those stuck-up idiots?, what did they do this time?," asked Yoruichi._

"_Well, they were going to beat me up for 'mouthing off'," Kisuke added._

_Yoruichi cocked an eyebrow and looked her blonde friend up and down. "Really?, because you seem fine to me."_

"_That's the cool part, these two showed up and started dropping explosives off the roof at them," Kisuke said excitedly._

_The princess gave him a stunned look before giving off a laugh and turning to the two brothers. "So you two are the ones scaring the piss out of their guards with the fireworks, huh?"_

"_Yeah!, it's so funny!," Kaien said. "They all run around in circles and scream like this, AHHHHH!," Kaien shouted as he gave one of his grand performances, this one of the guards behavior. When the young boy was done running around in circles and acting as if his pants were on fire, he sighted a clock on the wall. "Brother!, we have half an hour now!,"_

_Isshins eyes shot up from the floor and his head turned towards the wall. "Alright guys, we need to get going."_

"_Alright, lead the way Isshin," said Kisuke as he leapt up from an easy chair, looking back at it with a sense of regret. __**I should get one of those someday…..they're comfy. **__The eldest Shiba nodded as he lifted up his brother and thundered out of the room, followed closely by Kisuke and Yoruichi. The three friends had begun the trek down a path, the path that would lead them all to their eventual destinies._

* * *

"Tatsuki!," Ichigo shouted at his childhood friend. "This is isn't a race, slow down!"

"Yeah, right," she responded. "Like I'm falling for that old trick again." She instead increased her speed and darted around a street corner, determined to reach their destination before her male rival. **Hey, a shortcut. **She thought, spotting an inconspicuous alleyway leading directly across from the park. **There's no way he'll beat me now.** She burst out of the alleyway and onto the street, luckily there weren't any cars. She triumphantly strode into the entrance and turned back towards the street. "Alright Ichigo, hurry up so I can properly gloat."

"I'm already here," A familiar voice said from behind.

She jumped in surprise and turned to face the speaker. To her shock, it was Ichigo leaning on a nearby tree. "Ichigo?, how did you beat me here?"

The teenager quickly scanned his surroundings before replying "Don't worry about it."

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow, confused at her friends behavior. "Something wrong Ichigo?, you're acting weird."

Her comment snapped him back to attention. "Wrong?, no way, I feel great!"

"I can tell when you're lying , you know.," she responded.

**Damn…..should I tell her? Probably won't believe me anyway…but I have to get her out of her before anything happens.** Ichigo thought. He took a deep breath and replied "Tatsuki, something bad is about to happen, we need to.." He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Tatsuki begin to shiver uncontrollably. "Hey!, what's wrong!"

"It's so cold all of a sudden," she stammered out. A shadow grew behind her and Ichigos eyes shot open. He jetted forward at superhuman speed and tackled his friend to the ground. "What the hell Ichigo!," she shouted. "What's wrong with yo….." Her voice trailed off as a tree previously behind her burst into splinters. **What?….did Ichigo just...**

The strawberry-haired teen lept up to his feet and searched for their attacker. "Stay down!," he shouted down to Tatsuki. He now had a full view of their assailent, and as he suspected, it was a hollow. This one was smaller than the others and had six legs instead of two, which it was using to walk similar to a spider. The only real similarities to the earlier ones was the intimidating white mask and hole through the center of its chest.

"Sooooooo, you can actually see me human?," the arachnoid hollow hissed out. "What a delicious surprise, its always so much more enjoyable if your meals can see…….the look of terror is just so satisfying.." the hollow licked its lips in anticipation.

"Sorry to break it to you, but being eaten isn't part of my plans," Ichigo said. **Remember how you did it before Ichigo…..come on.** As he found his power, the familier Aura encompassed Ichigo again, causing a string breeze to blow around him. **Heh…it's easier every time… **He reached down and picked up his sheathed zanpakuto. **So this thing can cut souls huh…** He pulled the blade out and threw its sheath to the ground. He held it tightly before him in both hands, preparing to defend himself.

**A soul reaper?** A confused hollow thought, beginning to back away. **Wait a second, this kids human, humans can't be soul reapers.** "Nice trick human, but there's no way someone like you can hope to defeat me." He braced and charged the teenage boy with murderous intent.

Tatsuki, who had been looking on in confusion for some time, felt as if a ton of bricks had fallen on her back. **What is this, what's going on!** She couldn't move, it was as if she were being crushed by an unknown force. She attempted to call out for help, but found herself unable to even do that much….before long her whole world went black.

Ichigo saw the hollow approaching and seemingly disappeared. The charging hollow's face became one of surprise, halting in its tracks. **No human's that fast, where did he…**

"Behind you"

_**Finally, Ichigos going to have his first full fight with a hollow! Just to clear some things up, here are the ages of everyone plus those in the flashback. Ichigo-17, Tatsuki-16, Yuzu-13, Karin 13. Now with the spirits im going to use a 'relative age' based on their appearance, not their actual age which could make it a little confusing. Urahara- 34, Yoruichi-34, Isshin- 36, Tessai- 35. Flashback ages. Kisuke- 10, Isshin-12, Yoruichi-10, Kaien-6 **_


	8. Zangetsu

_**Ok, chapter 8 is up. I really enjoyed writing this one, cuz it was the first to truly involve action.**_

Ichigo grinned and sliced at the hollows exposed neck with his zanpakto. The surprised spirit's blood oozed out of its now severed head, its eyes looking angrily at the young human. "Heh, your not so tough are you"," Ichigo said to the now splayed hollow. He looked down to the blade in his hands thoughtfully. **Maybe there's something to all of this stuff after all..** He continued to admire it, before remembering that he wasn't alone in the encounter. **Tatsuki!** He looked around frantically for his friend and found her collaped underneath a tree. He ran up and checked for a pulse and seemed satisfied when he found it. **Not surprised that she passed out, I was pretty freaked the first time I saw one too…**

"YOU THINK ITS OVER HUMAN!," Ichigo's eyes shot open and he quickly turned around. The hollow's eyes were looking at him, a toothy grin on its face. Dark blood oozed out of the severed head like a serpent, creeping its way back to its former body. When it reached it's neck, the dark liquid thickened and began to pull the head back towards the body.

**What the hell? **Thought Ichigo. **I cut it's damn head off!**

"heh heh heh," the hollow laughed at Ichigo's shocked expression. "Are you surprised?," it asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said, gripping his zanpakto tightly. "But I doubt you can do it again!," He disappeared as before, but reappeared in front of the hollow. He swung his sword down hoping to once again sever it's head, only to have it blocked by one of the hollows razor sharp appendages.

"You are truly incompetent aren't you," the hollow asked, shoving Ichigo away forcefully. "Do you even know how to kill me?," The human in question just glared back angrily and charged again. **Fool**. The spirit quickly swung its forearm and caught the reappearing Ichigo in the ribs, sending him flying into a nearby tree, snapping it in two.

Yoruichi woke from her nap with a start and snapped her head to the east. **Ichigo's fighting a hollow.**

"Ah, so you noticed too eh Yoruichi," Kisuke Urahara said from his favorite lounge chair. "He's actually using what we taught him."

The feline turned her head back towards Kisuke with a knowing look. "You're not going to do anything about it are you…"

"Me?," Kisuke asked. "What could a lowly yet handsome shopkeeper like myself do against a big-bad hollow like that?"

"So, your going to let him face almost certain doom then?," the annoyed cat asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course not!," the shopkeeper said with a grin. "Hey Hiyori, I gotta job for you!,"

The girl in question wondered in with an already agitated expression. "Let me guess….it has something to do with that kid again doesn't it?"

"Bingo!," Urahara said. "It seems he's run into a rather unfriendly hollow, and I need you to.." His sentence was cut off as he received an unexpected sandal across the face.

"I'M NOT YOUR DAMN ERRAND GIRL!," she shouted, beating him in the face multiple times with her sandals. "DO IT YOURSELF!" She gave Kisuke one last good shot and stomped out of the room, fuming at Urahara's request.

"I, as your captain order you to make sure he doesn't die," Urahara said, his face back into its signature grin.

This last command caused Hiyori to stop and turn back to give him a deathglare. "Why you!"

"I command you to go to where Ichigo is and make sure he doesn't get himself killed, however do not interfere unless absolutely necessary," Kisuke said, pulling down his bucket hat.

Hiyori growled under her breath before using shunpo. Yoruichi turned to Kisuke and sighed. "Why do you still hold that title over her, you know she hates it."

"Yeah, but she still respects it," Urahara responded, beginning to yawn. "Besides, she's better suited to this kind of thing,"

"Are you sure it's not just because you're so lazy," Yoruichi asked, settling back into her mountain of pillows.

"Maybe…," Urahara said before once again drifting back into a lazy afternoon snooze.

Ichigo had dropped to a defensive, just trying to stay on his feet while blocking the hollows attacks. **Damn, he's a lot faster than I thought.** He blocked an incoming strike and saw an opening, he slashed at the hollows exposed side and drew blood, but in his moment of triumph, caught another leg to the side of the head. He hit the ground hard and slid for a few feet before slowly picking himself up, using his zanpakto for support.

"You are strong human, that is certain," the hollow hissed out of its salivating jaws. "You surprised me with your speed, but you have no idea what to do." The hollow laughed maniacally and a long serpentine tongue licked its jowls. "You radiate energy like a fountain human……I will enjoy devouring your soul." The hollow sped forwards at incredible speeds, giving Ichigo no time to respond.

Hiyori appeared in the treetops of a nearby tree and scoffed angrily. **That bastard…..using his title to boss me around like that**. She noticed that Ichigo was struggling with the hollow and as it charged her hand crept towards the hilt of her zanpakto. **Seems like I'll have to save strawberrys ass once again. **

**I can't dodge it there's no time….** Ichigo thought, watching the black beast charge him, its white face a menace to behold. He gripped his training zanpakto and prepared himself to do all that he could do, attack.

The hollows grin widened and he bared his fangs at the human. "Making my task easier eh," it shouted. "Welcome your death!"

Ichigo blade and the hollows sharp legs clashed and light filled the boys vision. He felt disoriented and weightless, seemingly detatched from the world around him, pain filled his body and his consciousness left him.

A cigarette dropped from a man's hand in a nearby medical clinic, a girl stopped mid-kick in a game of soccer, another girl dropped a kettle of tea on one of her stuffed animals. Their eyes all shot towards the park, a psychic link between them, all uttering the same word….."Ichigo,"

**Clouds….. why are there clouds? Am I dead?** Ichigo thought, his blurry vision fading as he stared up at a cloudy sky. The surface benath him felt hard, almost metallic from the touch. **Am I in heaven…**

"Stand Ichigo Kurosaki, for your time of judgment is near," a deep, booming voice echoed through Ichigos senses. He scrambled to his feet, knees weak and sore from his earlier bout. The confused human turned wildly about, attempting to find the hollow, but the only thing in his sight was a man, dressed in a long black coat with tattered edges. His face was slightly bearded and his hair was shoulder length and pitch black.

"Who the hell are you!," Ichigo shouted at the mysterious man. "Where's the hollow I was fighting," Ichigo said, searching frantically for his enemy and his zanpakto.

"Looking for this?," the strange man said, pulling out the training blade given to Ichigo by Urahara.

"Hey, give it back," Ichigo said, reaching for his sword, but then watching horrified as the man dropped it down into a dark abyss. "Why the hell did you do that!"

"Ichigo, such feeble power will not help you against powerful hollows," the man muttered to the shocked teen. Up close, it could be seen that he was wearing translucent grey sunglasses, he himself appeared to be middle-aged. "I can give you something more."

"Who the hell are you old man!," Ichigo shouted. "Dammit why I am here and not fighting that hollow, what about Tatsuki, that damn thing could be tearing her apart by now!"

"Calm down Ichigo, her fate will be determined by your success here and now," The man in black said.

Ichigo gave the man a dark look, glaring at him angrily. "What do you mean!" "Your speaking in riddles!"

"I'm going to test you Ichigo," the mysterious figure said. "If you pass, you'll return to your world with the power to defeat the hollow, but if you fail…"

"What happens if I fail?," Ichigo asked.

"You die," the man in black said.

Ichigo's eyes widened at the man's statement. **I'll die? But if I don't do anything Tatsuki will die……..I might not be able to leave either..** He looked back up at the man and sighed. "Alright, what exactly is it I have to do this time."

The spirit looked solemnly at Ichigo. "All I ask is this……what is my name Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Oh Fuck," Hiyori said, watching Ichigos body collapse to the ground. "Urahara's going to be pissed."

"HAHAHA," the hollow laughed. "Pathetic human, I shall devour your soul!"

**Your name is…..** The Hollow bared its fangs and shrieked into the air, signaling its victory.

**Is…….** It's many legs gripped the ground as it prepared to charge.

**Is……** The hollow charged at Ichigos prone body, preparing to devour the soul which would soon emerge.

"ZANGETSU!"

The hollow stopped in it's tracks after hearing the human's voice once more. **Impossible, I can sense his soul is gone from his body….where is that voice coming from. **It's eyes searched for the source of the sound, but a strong wind blew the hollow off its feet. It turned and its eyes widened at what it saw. It was Ichigo, exactly as he had been before, but for one difference. In his hands was not the katanta of a training zanpakto, but a large, yet elegant cleaver. It was as long as Ichigo was tall and had no grip or guard. It's handle was wrapped in a white cloth, that's ragged edge blew wildly in his burst of power."Impossible!....," the hollow shouted. "How can a human be a soul reaper!,"

"No questions hollow," Ichigo stated, readying his new weapon. "Time to DIE!," the teen disappeared and reappeared instantly in front of the hollow. Its eyes widened n fear as Ichigo swung down with all his might, cleaving the entire hollow in two and splitting its white mask. It howled in pain and disintegrated before Ichigos eyes, floating away until nothing remained.

"Way to go Strawberry," Hiyori said, leaping down from her tree. "You actually managed to kill it yourself.

Ichigo stared at the weapon in his hand with amazement. It was almost six feet long but felt as light as a feather, not only that but it felt like it should be there, like that's where it belonged.

"Not only that, but you somehow managed to separate your spirit from your body," the girl commented. Ichigo eyes shot open and he turned to where his body had been.

"WHAT THE HELL!," he shouted, running towards his now soulless body. He turned to Hiyori and asked. "How do I get back in!?" The girl tilted her head and sighed, reaching into one her pockets, she pulled out a glove with a flaming skull printed on it.

She slid the glove onto her hand and approached the frantic boy. "Stand still," She said before grabbing Ichigos spirit and body slamming it onto his prone body, re-inserting in into his body. The boy's eyes shot open as he returned to his body, after testing his fingers and toes he seemed satisfied and began looking for Tatsuki. He found her still unconscious under the same tree as before. "Your release of power was what knocked her out Ichigo."

"My power?," Ichigo asked. "Why would it effect her?"

"When spirit beings exert their power, they also release spiritual pressure which puts heavy strain on weaker beings." Hiyori explained, checking the pulse of the unconscious Tatsuki. "She should be fine." After this, she stood up and used shunpo to depart back to Urahara's shop.

**Well, at least she's Ok** Ichigo thought. He prepared to pick her up, but remembered his zanpakto. He looked back to where he had been, but didn't see it. What he did see was a katana with a black and silver grip, its guard a circle broken into four equal sections with gaps in between. He picked it up and slid the blade out of the black sheath to see a black blade with a silver edge. **Zangetsu..** The name flashed through his mind. **Maybe it's like this now because I'm human…..when I was a spirit it was huge…** Ichigo shrugged and slid the blade back into its sheath and tied it so it was worn on his back. After retrieving his new zanpakto, he picked up his unconscious friend and used his new found speed to get her home quickly. What would have taken over twenty minutes took less than one. He lept up to her bedroom window and placed her gently on her bed. **Hopefully, she'll think it was nothing more than a nightmare….**

He leapt down and quickly jetted across town back to his own home, the Kurosaki clinic.

_**Yeah, some of the changes I made here where with Ichigos shinigami power. I ditched the idea that whenever he changes, the robes appear. Now whenever he does so, his spirit just has on whatever he did as a human. Also with Zangetsu I wanted Ichigo to carry it around as a human, so I gave it a sealed state. No phrase is required to summon it, as it automatically releases to shikai when he releases his spirit.**_


	9. A Promise

**_Ok, chapter 9 time. _**

**_To fallen-ryu: yes I have and it is indeed epic._ **

**So, the shopkeeper was right after all. Ichigo thought, standing outside of the clinic. But why, why hide all of this from me for so long? **He sighed inwardly and reached for the doorknob. He turned it and quickly jumped to the side to avoid his fathers customary welcome kick, but it didn't come. **That's….strange.** He stepped through the doorway to see his father glancing at him from the couch, but to Ichigo's annoyance someone else was their too, the shopkeeper with the bucket-hat.

"It's about time you got here Ichigo," Urahara said from his recliner. "I guess you took a little detour after killing that hollow?"

**How does he..** "How do you know about that?!," Ichigo shouted back in response. "You been spying on me?

"Calm down Ichigo, Kisuke here is a old friend of mine," Isshin said. "But, I guess you already know that."

"Your damn right I know it!," Ichigo yelled. "Why the hell didn't you tell me I was part…part…part," **Krap…what was it?**

"Soul Reaper," Kisuke inserted.

Ichigo nodded at the shopkeeper and turned back angrily to his father. "Why lie to me for all this time?"

Isshin sighed and rubbed his hands on his temples. "To protect you Ichigo……," He lifted his head and looked his son in the eye. "I did it to protect you."

"From what?," Ichigo said. "From Hollows?," Ichigo said. "We see how well that turned out!"

"No Ichigo," Isshin said. "Something much worse. I wanted to protect you……from other soul reapers."

Ichigos eyes shot open and he began to unconsciously inch away from Urahara. "Why would other soul reapers care about me? Don't they go around killing hollows?"

Kisuke and Isshin exchanged glances. "You sure you want to tell him this Isshin?," Kisuke asked.

"Yeah," Isshin replied. "It's about time he knew the truth." The docter rolled up the sleeve of his labcoat to reveal a black tattoo, a logo of the kanji for shiba. "I was a member of a wealthy family back when I lived in the soul society. We were one of the four noble houses which held great influence over the society."

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "But why would you leave a life like that?,"

"It wasn't a choice Ichigo," said Isshin. "I was forced out."

"You see Ichigo," Kisuke began. "Soul Reapers are divided into thirteen divisions, each with a captain and a lieutenant. Your father and I were both captains of our own divisions."

**This guy as a captain? **Thought Ichigo. **I pity his subordinates…**

"My father, your grandfather, was a member of the governing body of soul society, the central forty-six, and I was a captain while my younger brother was a lieutenant."

"Your father was a friend of mine and Yoruichi's during this time," said Kisuke. "And his brother Kaien was incredibly Charismatic, he drew people to him like a magnet."

"When Kaien was considered for promotion to the ranks of captain, six of the 13 positions were taken up by someone loyal to the Shiba name."

"Loyal to the name?," Ichigo asked.

"Like Kisuke said, Kaien was very Charismatic," Isshing stated. "His three closest friends all became captains as did two of mine."

"What does this have to do with me?," Ichigo asked confused. "You were wealthy at one point, but why would that put me in danger?"

"We held too much influence in the 13 divisions, " said Isshin. "If Kaien was promoted, 7 of the 13 seats would be under our control, and the other houses didn't like that."

"So what did they do?" asked Ichigo. "Kick you out?"

"No…..Genocide."

Tatsuki tossed and turned in her beadm bothered by her nightmares. She was being chased by a black shape with a terrible white face, laughing at her as it approached. As it was about to attack, a man appeared out of nowhere with a giant sword and cleaves the beast in two. When she tried to approach him he disappeared, and then the feeling returns. Burning, her hands burn and catch fire, she can feel the pain and screams…

She sits up in her bead breathing hard and thinks **That dream again….that's the third time tonight. **She looked at her hands tentatively, checking to see if there actually were burns. She sighed in relief when their wasn't anything out of the ordinary. **That's a relief, I don't' know what I would have done if they actually ingited… **She flipped over and tried to go back to sleep, but the thought of the dream wouldn't leave her. **Its funny, why does it feel more like a memory than a dream, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that if it happened. **Frustrated, she got up to get a glass of water, but froze in fear at what she saw. Out of the corner of her eyes was coming a strong orange light, she slowly moved her head to see what she had dreaded. Her hands were now ingulfed in bright orange flames. She screamed and ran to a sink, drawing water and shoving her hands into it, but the fire didn't go out, their wasn't even any stream coming out either. Panicking, she ran to the fridge and shoved her hands into the freezer. **What do I do…what do I do….what do I do..**

"Calm down child," a masculine voice said behind her. She turned to the surprising sight of a small black cat looking at her from atop a table. "You can take your hands out now, keeping them cold isn't going to do any good…"

**Oh god…I'm crazy** The panicked girl thought, putting her hands on her head, but yanking them back down when she remembered their condition. "Great, now a cats talking too."

"I assure you that you are not in any way crazy," the cat said to her. "However, have you been having dreams of any kind lately?,"

**What the? **She stared at the cat, sizing it up before answering. "Dreams of my hands catching fire, yes."

"Don't you think it's funny you haven't been feeling pain this whole time," Yoruichi asked her, referring to her hands.

Tatsuki''s eyes shot open and she looked down at her hands. **She's right, they don't hurt, in fact I don't think they ever have…. **"So what, maybe their just an illusion, just like you."

"That is not the case," Youruichi said, leaping down from her spot on the table. "However I can assure you that Ichigo Kurosaki was involved in your hands being this way."

"Ichigo?," Tatsuki thought, confused. "What do you mean he has something to do with this?"

Yoruichi walked over to where she was sitting on the kitchen floor. "It's a complicated story, however if you follow me I can answer you questions." She walked over to the doorway and looked back at the girl. "Plus, I can extinguish those hands of yours."

Tatsuki watched the cat leap out of her window, and after hesitating briefly, jumped out after it. Her hands illuminated the night which allowed her to easily see the cat perched on a nearby fence. "Where we going?," she asked.

"Well, I can't really tell you but I'm sure you can follow me adequately enough," the cat responded, leaping back over the fence. Tatsuki climbed it after her and continued to follow her down an alleyway lined with fence boards. Before long, she found another fence she had to climb over another fence. A shape loomed in the dark and Tatsuki instinctively lashed out at it. A fireball erupted out of her extended hand and soared off into the night, revealing the shadow as being cast by a street lamp and a conveniently placed cat. "Well, that's interesting,"

The bewildered girl looked wide eyed at her flaming hands, trying to make sense of what just happened. "How did…I …,"

"A long story," said Yoruichi, stepping out from under the streetlamp. "The simplified version however is that you were exposed to a massive amount of spiritual pressure from your friend Ichigo, which seems to have given you powers of your own."

"Powers?," asked Tatsuki.

"Yes, being human, yours developed quite differently than usual," said Yoruichi, once again heading off towards the shop. "A friend of mine can explain it better than I,"

The pair took off down many avenues and side roads before finally arriving back at Kisuke's shop. "This is where your friend lives?," asked Tatsuki.

"Yes, as do I," Yoruichi responded. She led the girl to a back room where she opened a hidden trap door. "Take this ladder down, I'll be down momentarily."

Tatsuki did as she was told and descended into what appeared to be outside during the day. **This just keeps getting stranger and stranger….** As she reached the bottom, she marveled at the seemingly endless open space before her, as bright as midday. **How could someone have something like this under their house?** As she was examining her surroundings, someone lept down from the opening above.

It was a woman with long purple hair in a pony tail and deeply tanned skin. She had golden eyes and wore black pants and an orange shirt. "Girl, over here," she cried out to Tatsuki.

"You must be who the cat was talking about," Tatsuki said, turning to face the newcomer.

The woman laughed at her comment. "It's because of the voice isn't it?"

"I'm sorry, what?," Tatsuki answered, confused.

"When I'm a cat my voice is pretty masculine, however I assure you I'm a woman," she said. "My name's Yoruichi Shihoin."

"I'm Tatsuki Arisawa," said Tatsuki. "So, can you really help me with….this," she said, gesturing to her burning hands.

"Depends," Yoruichi said, beginning to stretch herself out. "I need to understand it first; I saw martial arts trophys at your home, are you a martial artist?"

Tatsuki's face became a wide grin. "You bet I am, I'm the second strongest girl in Japan, would have been first if I hadn't been fighting with a broken arm."

"Really," Yoruichi said. **Hmmm… a martial artist, right up my alley. **"Care to give me a little demonstration?"

"Genocide!," Ichigo shouted. "You mean they hunted Shiba's down to kill them!,"

"Bluntly, yes," said Kisuke.

"Five captains came to our manor one day, with the intent of capturing me and Kaien…" Isshin began.

_"Why are they doing this!," Isshin shouted. _

_"I don't know, but things look bad," said his brother Kaien. Both had grown since their days as pranksters. Kaien appeared to be in his mid twenties and Isshin early thirties. "Five of them are out their and they want us dead."_

_"Tessai, how's that barrier holding up?," said Kisuke Urahara as he strode into the room. _

_"I don't know how much longer I can hold them back Kisuke," Tessai said, struggling with his barrier kido. _

_"Any ideas Kisuke,?" Isshin asked._

_"None today pal," Urahara responded. "The only way out I see is escape, but that's not an option, is it?" _

_"You know me too well Kisuke," Kaien responded. "Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko, get Miyako and my younger siblings out of here."_

_"Understood sir," the large twins in question said before heading out to gather the others._

_"Sure you didn't piss anyone off Kaien?," Isshin asked his brother while readying his zanpakto._

_"Don't kid Isshin, this is serious," he responded, readying his own. _

_"I can't hold it any longer you two," Tessai said, collapsing in exhaustion._

_"Kisuke, get him out of here," Kaien yelled to the blonde-headed captain. _

_"What, I'm going to fight with you guys, theirs no way you can take them all alone," said Kisuke._

_"We won't take no for an answer, now get moving!," shouted Isshin."Kaien and I will distract them while you make your escape." Urahara hesitated, but eventually nodded before grabbing Tessai. _

_Kaien began to twirl his zanpakto. "Rankle the seas and skies Nejibana!," he shouted. His sword began to glow and morphed into a crystalline trident._

_"Rage through the earth and…" Isshin began_

_"No, I'll fight them…." Kaien said, turning to his brother. "You grab Ichigo and get out of here."_

_"But Kaien…," Isshin said._

_"Promise me you won't come back for me Isshin," Kaien said. "Make sure that boy is safe." Isshin gave his brother one last look and used shunpo._

_The door burst inward, revealing the five captains. Each in the traditional black robes and white white haori, signifying their rank of captain. _

_"So, you will not run Shiba?," The man in front said. He was impossibly old with a long white beard. _

_"You can forget it," Kaien said to the group. "I won't run from a fight."_

_"So Ginrei, finally got your way eh," Isshin said to another of the captains. He was also old but lacked the beard of his superior._

_"You've brought this on yourselves Shiba," he responded. _

_"What's with all this talking," the largest of the present captains asked. He wore and eyepatch and his black hair was arranged in 5 large spikes. "I say we kill him now."_

_"A fight?," Kaien asked. "My thoughts exactly." He dashed at the ranks of the captains swung nejibana, creating a tidel wave that smashed into the group. __**Isshin….don't let me down.**_

"He was executed along with his closest friends the next day," Kisuke said. " Tessai and I tried to stop it, but were overpowered by the captains. Luckily, Yoruichi was able to get us out of their, but for Kaien and the others, it was too late."

Tears were now running down the face of Isshin after recalling the painful memory. "I kept my promise and got you out of soul society and into the human world, so you wouldn't face a similar fate."

"Dad…..i'm I'm sorry for what happened," said Ichigo.

"Isshin….I," Urahara began, but was cut off by the ringing of what sounded like a cell phone. He picked it up, "Hello? Yes…..Really?" He hung up and put it in his pocket. "We can continue reminiscing at my place, Ichigo your friend, the girl."

"Tatsuki?," he asked. "Did something happen to her?!,"

"Yes, but nothing bad." He replied. "Isshin, grab my arm, you too ichigo." Father and Son grabbed his arms as the shopkeeper used shunpo to rapidly move away.

**_Alright, the truth is finally revealed and Yoruichi gains an apprentice, tell me what you guys think._**


	10. State of Soul Society

_**Woot! Chapter 10. I appreciate the feedback guys, it really is motivating. Well, I don't own Bleach or anything related to it, so don't take legal action against me.**_

**Dammit..** Ichigo thought, moving towards the Urahara shop at high speed. He turned his head to his father traveling beside him. **Why keep something like this from me…. **The trio stopped suddenly outside the shop, the trip almost instantaneous.

"We're here," said Kisuke. A red-headed boy quite familier to Ichigo stepped out of the shop with a broom and motioned towards the backrooms.

"Yoruichi and the girl are down in the training area," JInta said.

"Thanks Jinta," Kisuke said, strolling into the store followed by Isshin. As Ichigo entered, he fell flat on his face, tripping over an outstretched broomhandle.

**Not this shit again **Ichigo thought, fury building at Jinta's actions. He slowly stood and turned to face the smirking boy. "Why are you so set on screwing around with me!"

"Pssh, your new, get over it," Jinta said before returning to his sweeping. "Ururu used to be my target, but you're so much more fun."

"I'll show you fun!," Ichigo said, clenching his fist.

"Hey, Ichigo!," A voice called from inside the shop. Ichigo turned to see Kisuke beckoning to him from the back. "Come here, you'll want to see this." Ichigo approached the shopkeeper and looked down the familiar hole in the ground.

"What the?," he said, seeing his childhood friend fighting a dark skinned women with purple hair. He leapt down, using his reaitsu to cushion the landing. "Hey Tatsuki, what are you dion…YOUR HANDS….THEY'RE ON FIRE!"

Yoruichi and Tatsuki stopped their fight and turned to face Ichigo. "Yeah I know Ichigo," Tatsuki said, the flames on her hands fading away. "But, I got it under control."

"eh?," Ichigo said confused. "You got in under control?"

"Yeah, apparently when you fought that thing earlier today, I absorbed some of your energy…..right?," she asked turning to the other woman, who nodded. "Well, Yoruichi here has been helping me control it a little, and guess what! It actually makes me stronger!"

"Really?," Ichigo asked. "Well that's…….wait a minute!" Ichigo's eyes turned to the other woman with purple hair. "I thought Yoruichi was a cat!"

The woman laughed a bit before replying. "Sometimes I am, I can change shape at will."

**This group just gets stranger and stranger by the minute…** Ichigo thought.

"Hey!" someone called out. Ichigo turned to see Hiyori staring at him angrily. "Get back to the damn fight already!"

"Yes, please continue," said Kisuke. He had lept down shortly after Ichigo and looked at Tatsuki with great interest. "A human with reaitsu is quite interesting. I'd like to see it in action, if you don't mind."

"Should we oblige him Tatsuki?," Yoruichi said, turning back towards her opponent.

"Why not?," Tatsuki said, re-igniting her fists.

Ichigo watched the fight with great interest. **Just being around me did this? **He thought, seeing her move with inhuman speed, a missed punch cracking a boulder. **It's just like her to pick up on things quicker than me though…**

After awhile, Isshin strode up beside him. "Ichigo, I need for you to go watch your sisters."

"Wha-?," Ichigo responded. "But what about…"

"She'll be fine," said Kisuke. "Just do what your dad says, we've got some catching up to do."

Ichigo glared at the shopkeeper before huffing and using shunpo to hurry home. **She better be okay Urahara, or it'll be your ass.**

After Ichigo had left, Urahara said. "That boys catching on quickly Isshin,"

"A little to quickly for my liking," Isshin responded, watching the fight as well. **Yoruichi doesn't seem to have lost as step….she could practically be sleeping and still keep up this pace…**

"He's got that Shiba blood in him though," urahara responded, pressing a small sphere, causing his favorite easy chair to appear.

**That's what I'm worried about…. **Thought Isshin. "Kisuke, why did you help him awaken his power?"

"First out of curiousity," responded Kisuke, leaning back. "But, as soon as I learned his identity, I just helped him along a little…." Urahara said as he watched Yoruichi lazily dodge another attack.

"Helped him a little?," Isshin said disbelievingly. "For god's sake Kisuke, the boys learned Shikai!"

"What can I say, the boys got talent," Kisuke said, opening his fan to cool himself off.

"Don't you think all this running around with zanpaktos is going to attract soul reapers Kisuke?," Isshin said angrily. "We were trained to look for rogues that way, right?"

"I suppose that could be a problem," Kisuke muttered. "But, since they no longer patrol Karakura, I highly doubt that could happen."

Isshin's eyes shot open in surprise. "No longer patrol Karakura?, that's absurd" Isshin shouted. "There are hollows running around!"

"Yep, and you can thank Hiyori for killing them all..," Kisuke said, pointing to his former Lieutenant who was now watching the fight with interest, chewing on some barbeque.

"You mean not one soul reaper has been here?," Isshin said disbelievingly. "For how long?"

"87 years," Kisuke said. "About half the time I've been here in Karakura. Guess the towns luckily I was here when the reapers left…"

"Why would they up and abandon the town like that?," Isshin asked.

"No money in it," Kisuke responded, kicking out the footrest. "After the events of one-hundred and seventy years ago, that place has become all about money and profit. Even the 13 divisions are now dominated by the sereitei's aristocracy, the Kyoraku, Kira, Ukitake, Kasumioji, and Omaeda families to name a few."

"The bastards…." Isshin said, clenching his fist. **They're willing to sacrifice the souls of people because theirs no money in protecting them….** "Kisuke." The shopkeeper in question turned to face Isshin. "How is it you know all this, you didn't return did you?"

"I'm not suicidal Isshin," Kisuke responded. "I know because I've got someone on the inside watching them."

"Who's crazy enough to do that," Isshin replied surprised.

"The only one dedicated enough to do it." Said Kisuke

Isshin sighed before answering. "Soifon right?,"

"Very deductive…..as usual," Kisuke said with a grin. "Yes, she practically volunteered to do so, just to help Yoruichi."

"Sounds like her…," thought Isshin as his mind wondered off. "Kisuke…..what about Konso…can't they still track soul reapers with that?"

Urahara's grin momentarily faded as he considered Isshin's question. "I've never taught him that, so it shouldn't be a problem….where else could he learn it anyway…"

"I guess Kisuke…..," Isshin said, taking a seat beside his old friend. "But hey, try to keep him out of trouble."

"Can do, big man….can do."

As Ichigo opened the door to his house, he was greeted by a blur of tears, also known as his sister Yuzu. "Ichigo where have you been! I was so worried!"

"Ah, calm down Yuzu, he's fine," Karin said from the staircase, watching her twin squeeze the life out of their older brother.

"Yeah, what she said," Ichigo said, trying to wedge himself out of Yuzu'z grasp.

"Are….are you sure you're ok," Yuzu said, wiping stray tears from her eyes.

"Yes Yuzu, I'm fine," Ichigo said, trying to calm his overreacting sister down. She brightened instantly and bounded upstairs to resume her teaparty. "Well….that was easier than I thought.."

"So, I'm guessing your venture today has something to do with that sword on your back, eh," Karin said, noticing Ichigo's zanpakto.

**Damn…forgotten how observant she is..** "Yeah…in fact it had everything to do with this." Ichigo said, untying it from his back to hold in front of him.

"So what's it do,?" Karin asked, stepping forward to take a closer look.

"Remember that large black spirit from the other night?," Ichigo asked.

"eh?," said a puzzled Karin. "I remember being held up by an invisible force….but I can't see them remember."

"Whatever," Ichigo said. "This will allow me to kill those things and protect the spirits ." He unsheathed the blade to admire its onyx finish and silver edge.

"huh," Karin said, before turning to walk up the stairs herself. "Just don't do anything stupid Ichigo…..I won't forgive you if you get yourself killed."

"I don't plan on it Karin," Ichigo said to his retreating sister. "I wouldn't forgive myself if I did either.." he settled down on the couch and examined the blade more thoroughly, noticing a strange marking on the bottom of the hilt. "Shiba…." He read. "hmm, why would that be on the bottom…"

"Hey Ichigo!," a voice shouted from the kitchen. A familier spirit glided in, holding a bag of chips. "It's about time you got back, where were you anyway?"

**Oh god…** "Moe, it's been a long day can you please not talk right now.." Ichigo said, annoyed at the spirits presence.

"Oh come on," the disembodied businessman said, floating over. "I said I was going to help you anyway I could right?"

"You haven't done anything since you got here Moe," Ichigo mumbled. "Please, just go float somewhere else!"

"Well, maybe I will," the spirit said, it's nose in the air. "I don't want to be here anyway."

**I don't have to deal with this…** Ichigo thought, jumping to his feet and heading upstairs. "Night Moe,"

"Oh now you're polite, I suppose I'm supposed to be civil now too," Moe said mockingly

"I SAID GOODNIGHT!,"

The next day, Ichigo woke up at his usual time and prepared for school. **I only got two and a half hours of sleep last night…today's gonna be fun… **He donned his school uniform and gazed at his zanpakto. **I might need it….but how the hell am I getting that into the building… **He searched around his room until he found a duffle bag he had used for soccer the previous summer. **Perfect…no one will question this. **He packed away zangetsu and slung the bag over his shoulder. He marched downstairs to find his father sitting at the kitchen table with his sisters as if nothing had happened. "Morning," he said to the group with a wave.

"Aren't you gonna stay for breakfast Ichigo?," Yuzu asked, holding up a spatula.

"No, I've got to do something this morning," Ichigo replied. "I'll be late if I stick around this morning."

"Ichigo," Isshin called out to his son as he neared the door. The boy turned to face him with a questioning look. "Be careful out there." Ichigo nodded with a smirk and headed out the door. **I hope Urahara's right about this….**

Ichigo headed through the streets, weaving his way through the crowds towards the schoolbuilding. **Have these people always been moving so slowly…..its like their crawling.. **He scanned the people around him to see if they were watching, and when he felt he could do it without being noticed, used shunpo to dash away. He dashed through the city streets invisible to passerby. **This feels great……how did I ever live without this speed…**

To his surprise, he was quickly joined by his best friend, Tatsuki. "What's up Ichigo, you to lazy to walk too?,"

After the momentary surprise, Ichigo chuckled. "Yeah, I guess…….so you can move like this too?,"

"Apparently," Tatsuki replied, quickly moving out of the way of a stationary pedestrian. "Yoruichi showed me how before I left for home last night." The pair continued to move at high speed until they reached the school building, leaping on top of and stopping on the roof. "What's in the bag Ichigo," Tatsuki asked, motioning towards his duffel bag.

"My sword," Ichigo said. "I thought I might need it today, so I brought it just in case." They headed off to class, the other students unaware of there high-speed arrival. They walked into the classroom, Ichigo taking his signature seat at the back of the classroom, from which he would either sleep or stare mindlessly out of the window. Tatsuki melded in with the other girls, seeking to guard her friend Orihime from Chizuru's advances yet again. **She's acting as if nothing happened….. **Ichigo thought, watching her interact with the others. **Maybe I should too……** His thoughts were interuppyed however when he saw one of the other students staring at him from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned to face the boy, who turned away when Ichigo noticed him. **Why's Uryu glaring at me like that? All he usually does is read a book or fix those damn stuffed animals of his…** Ichigo shrugged it off and prepared for another long and boring day of high school. As expected, the day was like any other. Chizuru hit on Orihime, Tatsuki yelled at Chizuru, Orihime kept glancing back at Ichigo…..who fell asleep five minutes into class.....

Althougth something about the day was not average, and if Ichigo was awake he might have noticed it, Uryu had given him death glares the entire school day. **So…. A soul reaper finally comes into my territory, eh? I'll put the bastard in his place.**

_**Ok, Chapter 10 Is up. I think I've finally figured out where I'm going with this in the long run. If anyone has any questions, let me know. Just to throw it out there, Uryu is not going to be an archer this time around, but a cookie to anyone who can guess what he will use **__**. :)**_


	11. The Quincy

_**Woot. Ok, I think there may have been some misconceptions about the last chapter. When I said the Soul Society was about money, I did not mean money as in "we do stuff for money" I meant that it is about those who have the money, the Sereitei and its aristocracy holds all the power, so the condition of the Rukongai and the living world is suffering greatly because the aristocracy just doesn't give a damn. Also, since no one correctly guessed on the Uryu question, Winter's eye gets one for actually guessing.**_

BRRRRRRRRRRIIINNNGGG! . **Finally…** Ichigo thought, awakening from his slumber. He stretched and packed his books (which had served as pillows yet again) into his bag, careful not to expose zangetsu.

"Hey Ichigo, I'm stopping by the shop before I go home, want to come with?," said Tatsuki.

"You kidding?," Ichigo responded. "After last night's fun, I'm going home to get some sleep."

"You didn't get enough of it during class then?,"

"That guy's crazy….and cat-woman's even weirder!"

Their conversation continued on, within earshot of one other scheming student. **Good….he'll be alone on his way home..** The boy adjusted his glasses and stood out of his desk to leave the classroom.

Tatsuki, slightly miffed left soon after. **I think they're nice enough people….strange but nice enough…**

**I** **feel spiritual pressure coming off her as well….but it's not that of soul reapers.. **Uryu thought as she passed by him, jogging to reach her destination quickly. **Not powerful either... eh, probably just a person with above average perception. **

Ichigo exited the school building from the roof, eager to leave the same way he had arrived. "Now this is the way to travel, quick and easy." He slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and leapt from building to building at high speed. He reached the park and leapt down to dart down the path leading through it. He was about halfway when he sensed something was wrong. **Someone's watching me…where..** He continued moving and heard a loud noise to his right, instinctively ducking, he was able to barely avoid a streak of blue light shooting past where his head had been milliseconds before. **What the hell! **

"I'm impressed soul reaper," a familiar voice called from the bushes. "I didn't expect you to be able to move out of the way of that shot."

"Who are you?" Ichigo shouted. "Show yourself,"

"As you wish," the voice said. Its owner stepped out and was revealed to be none other than Ichigo's classmate Uryu Ishida.

"Uryu, what are you doing here?," Ichigo asked.

"I could ask you the same question Soul Reaper…" Uryu said, adjusting his glasses. "Your kind abandoned this town long ago."

"Why are you calling me that," Ichigo asked. "I'm not a soul reaper."

"Oh really?," questioned Uryu. "Than can you please tell me why that Zanpakto is in your bag there?" , pointing at Ichigos duffel bag.

Ichigo's eyes widened, his attention turned to his zanpaktos hiding place. **How does he… **His attention turned back to his assailant. "I don't know how you know all of this….but I am not a soul reaper."

"I will not be fooled by your kinds lies Ichigo," uryu said, pulling a silver object the shape of a rectangle out of his pocket. It had smooth sides with the only break being the back end, which had a hole with which to pick it up. "Draw you weapon, I will not kill an unarmed opponent." Ichigo could fell his power rising, spiritual pressure weighting him down. Uryu channeled his power into the shape in his hand, causing a blue light to rise out of the end in the shape of a blade.

"What the hell is that?," Ichigo said, pulling zangetsu from his bag and latching it around his back.

"This is Seele Schneider," Uryu responded. "The Quincy equivalent to that pitiful excuse for a blade you wield."

"Quincy?," Ichigo questioned, he had never heard the word before.

"Don't play dumb!," Uryu responded angrily. "You and your kind wiped us out decades ago!"

Ichigo took a step back in shock at the statement. **Them as well? What's going on here….**

"And my revenge..shall begin with you!" The Quincy shouted, charging Ichigo who barely drew his own sword to block in time.

"Are you crazy!," Ichigo shouted, parrying Uryus thrust. "There are people here!"

"I'm aware of that," Uryu said, sweeping Seele Schneider downward, only to be blocked and driven back by Ichigo. "That's why I'm taking it easy on you." **He's got some power…this could take awhile.. **

Ichigo parried thrust after thrust, swing after swing, but saw no opening for attack. **His attacks are so fast, it's difficult to keep up.. **Ichigo finally saw an opening and swung horizontally at the quinces' torso, but his sword was parried and knocked back. **Is it me, or is he getting faster.**

"It's no use soul reaper, you can't win against me," Uryu said, taking another swing at Ichigo. "Every time Seele Schneider makes contact with your zanpakto, it steals some of your spiritual particles."

"What are you talking about?," asked an Ichigo who was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the Quincy's movements.

"Have you not noticed you've been getting slower?," Uryu said, landing a glancing blow on Ichigo arm, drawing blood. "You may have been stronger at the start but now…" the Quincy disappeared into thin air and reappeared inches from Ichigo, slashing across his chest. "You can't keep up."

Ichigo eyes widened, too surprised to feel the pain as blood dripped down from the deep wound. **I didn't even see him….** He fell to his knees and gave the ground a blank stare. **How…how am I..**

"You're pathetic soul reaper," Uryu said, a smirk growing on his face. "To think you don't even know to release your zanpakto."

**My zanpakto….** Ichigo thought. **Za…za….that's it! **Ichigo struggled to his knees, using zangetsu as a staff for support. Breathing heavily, he held out his blade before him with both hands.

"Good, you're up," Uryu said, readying Seele Schneider. "I would have hated to kill you on your knees ." He dashed forward, attempting to land the killing blow.

"Chain….Zangetsu!,"

Uryu's blade met Ichigos but shattered instantly. **What!** A blast of spiritual pressure blew Uryu back to where he started his charge. **Is that his spiritual pressure…. **As the dust cleared, he could see Ichigo standing above his body, wielding what seemed to be a giant cleaver. **He released his zanpakto, guess this calls for a change of plans..**

"I'm going to end this quickly Uryu," Ichigo said readying his Zanpakto. "He can't endanger the people here any longer," He dashed at the Quincy and swung his zanpakto in a wide arc, attempting to disable the Quincy, but was shocked when his target disappeared. His eyes widened, hearing a sharp click to his left. He quickly turned, his eyes inches from the end of a gun barrel. **Oh kra… **The gun went off with a loud crack, releasing a streak of blue energy slamming into Ichigo and driving him through a nearby tree.

"I dabble in swordplay soul reaper," Uryu said, holding the gun by his side. "But we Quincy's are truly masters of this." He held up the gun, revealing it to be a large silver revolver with a black grip, decorative blue lines running down its length. "This is Seele Gewehr and it is the reason why you will not defeat me."

Ichigo rose from the splinters of the shattered tree and released his spiritual pressure. A light aura surrounded him, bringing with it a gust of wind. "I don't care what you use….you've pissed me off." Uryu smirked and raised his revolver and fired, the blue streak sped towards Ichigo, but was dodged by the boy. He dodged a second shot, a third, a fourth, a fifth. "Heh, game over Uryu."

"And why is that?," the Quincy asked, his revolver pointed at Ichigos head.

"I know how a revolver works," Ichigo responded with a smirk. "You get six shots before re-loading and that was your fifth, so by my math you have one left."

Uryu's expression did not change at Ichigos remark. "Do you truly believe this weapon uses bullets?" Ichigo's smirk faded. "Your confused face warrants an explanation." The Quincy flicked his wrist, causing the cylinder to flop open.

**There's no ammunition? **Ichigo thought, shocked. **Then how does it fire?**

"Your face says it all," said Uryu. "My weapon does not have ammunition because it feeds off of my own energy. I channel my energy into it and the gun condenses it while accelerating it down the barrel. So technically speaking, it will fire as long as I'm alive."

**You're kidding me….. **Ichigo thought. **How am I going to get close to him while he has that thing. **He came back to reality as he dodged another shot, leaping away. **He must have a weak spot…** As another shot was fired, Ichigo used shunpo to disappear and reappeared behind Uryu, who quickly turned and fired a shot, destroying Ichigo's after image. **Perfect, he fell for it! **Ichigo's cunning ploy had caused Uryu to leave his back wide open. He swung down but another bright flash impacted his gut and sent him sliding across the ground.

"That was smart soul reaper, however I forgot to mention something," Ichigo looked up from the ground and saw Uryu facing away from him, but with a second revolver pointed out behind him. "I wield two Seele Gewehr, it's useless to sneak up behind me."

"For the last time, I am not a Soul Reaper!," Ichigo shouted, picking himself off of the ground. **Goddamnit….how am I supposed to hit this guy, I can't get close enough…**

"You wield a zanpakto and give off the aura of a soul reaper," Uryu said, turning to face Ichigo. "You're as much a soul reaper as I am a Quincy." **That last attack was extremely close, I'm going to have to be on my guard…**

_Ichigo__**…..**_** What…what was that** Ichigo thought. _Ichigo, examine your blade_. **Do what…..who are you? **_I am saddened that you do not remember me Ichigo, for it is I Zangetsu._ **Why are you talking to me at a time like this! I'm in the middle of a fight!** _We fight as one Ichigo, and I am assisting you….use your blade's design to your advantage.. _**What are you trying to tell me? I am using it like a sword right? **

**What is that soul reaper doing… **Uryu thought, confused at Ichigos silence. **He seems to be deep in thought…**

**What could he mean… **Ichigo thought as he opened his eyes. He looked at the blade in his hands. **It's a cleaver, so it should be used to swing….wait.. **His eyes were drawn to the cloth hanging from the end of its handle. **Maybe that's what… **Ichigo let go of the handle and let the blade go limp as he gripped the cloth hanging from the handle. **Here goes nothing…** He moved his hand quickly in a circle, and to his surprise the cloth lengthened and Zangetsu began to spin like a windmill. _Very good.._

**What is this? **Uryu thought, watching the spinning Zangetsu. **Is he preparing for some kind of special attack? **He watched as Ichigo stopped his wrist and flung Zangetsu forward, the giant clever flying through the air like a missile. Uryu's shock gave him very little time to respond, he was barely able to turn his head, but as he did so, the pommel of Zangetsu was in his face. **Shiba!? **

The blade buried itself in a tree and Ichigo yanked it back, beginning to spin it once more. "You seem surprised Uryu, was that attack that unexpected?" Ichigo's grin of success faded as he witnesses Uryu' face. It had lost its confidence and now seemed to a mixture of shock and contemplation.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," Uryu said. "What is your father's name?,"

"My dad?," Ichigo questioned, confused. "I don't know why you're asking, but his name's Isshin."

Uryu's eyes shot open and his grin crept back to his face. "Well aren't I lucky," he said putting away both Seele Gewehr and walking towards Ichigo. "To have met another enemy of the soul society."

**Enemy?! **Ichigo thought, lowering Zangetsu. "What do you mean Uryu, why the sudden change of heart?"

"You do not know?!," Uryu said disbelieving. "How do you not know?!"

"Just like how I didn't know I had spiritual power until a week ago," Ichigo responded. "Or that my father's real last name was Shiba."

**He must be the one rumored to have been raised in the human world…..that would explain his lack of knowledge…** "Well Ichigo, allow me to clarify," Uryu said. "I am the last of the Quincy's, for we too were wiped out by those at the Soul Society, and I'm surprised to actually meet a descendant of one of the noble houses, especially from the family deemed so much of a threat, that they were wiped out…"

"I really don't care about the Soul Society," Ichigo said, walking back towards his body.

"What?!," Uryu shouted. "They're evil, they wiped out your entire family, how do you not care?!,"

"My job is to protect this town's spirits from hollows and nothing else," Ichigo said, standing before his body. **Oh krap…how do I get back in…**

Uryu attempted a rebuttal but was cut off as an inhuman shriek ripped through the air. **Hollow! **Both boys thought in unison. Uryu took off quickly in the direction of the noise, drawing his Seele Gewehr while Ichigo was right behind him, traveling with Shunpo. They arrived in the middle of a city street to witness a massive hollow cornering the ghost of a little boy.

"Help, help," the little boy cried, looking around for someone.

"Quiet now little one," the hollow said with an evil voice. "I wouldn't want someone interrupting my meal would I?"

"Hey big guy,"

The hollow turned his head to see what had spoken, only to receive a shot to the face. It cried out in pain and stumbled backward, giving Ichigo the opportunity he needed to dash forward and vertically sliced the hollow from head to toe. The two halves fell apart and dissolved into spirit particles, leaving nothing behind.

"Hey kid," Ichigo said to the still shivering boy. The kid looked up at Ichigo, but quickly hid his head again. "Your safe now kid, go play or something."

Uryu watched as confused as Ichigo began to walk away. "Hey Ichigo, aren't you forgetting something?'

Ichigo turned to Uryu with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think so….why?"

"What about konso?,"

"Konso?," Ichigo asked. "Never heard of it…"

"Never heard of…!," Uryu said disbelieving. "You're a soul reaper and you've never heard of Konso? "Its how souls are sent to the soul society, how they pass on."

"This coming from you, I thought you hated the soul society."

"That isn't the point, that's where spirits are supposed to go after the body dies, it's what a soul reapers job is supposed to be."

Ichigo sighed and approached the shivering little boy. "Hold still, I'm not going to hurt you kid, I'm going to send you to the so…..hmm….uh… heaven."

"Really?," the boy asked shakily, seemingly hopeful.

"Yeah," Ichigo answered. "So Uryu, what do I do?"

"Just tap him on the head with the pommel of your zanpakto, it should leave the sign of your family, so……….OH CRAP ICHIGO WAIT!" But it was too late, the mark of the Shiba Clan was on the boy's forehead and he was drifting away into the sky. "Ichigo, are you aware of what just happened.."

* * *

"Something big must be happening, the Captain-Commander doesn't assemble all the captains together often," Soifon thought, spying on the soul reapers hurrying towards the 1st division barracks. She used a trick picked up from Yoruichi to change herself into an orange tabby cat. **I better sneak in and check it out..**

She used feline agility to leap to the roof of the barracks and wiggled through a hole she dug herself years ago. Finding the air duct, she padded along silently until directly above the meeting room for the 13 divisions. There were 12 men arranged in rows of six standing beneath her. **They all seem to be here….it should be getting started soon.**

An older man in a black robe and white haori entered the room, followed by another man with white hair and a thin mustache. The first took a seat while the second cleared his throat and unfurled a scroll. "This meeting has been called by Captain-commander Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai regarding a developing situation in the human world.

"Oh, get on with it Chojiro, I have stuff to do," a man with long blonde hair said.

"This is a matter of utmost importance Captain Hirako," the elderly man said. "I advise you to keep your mouth closed."

Chojiro continued, "I shall begin the roll call, then. Captain of the Second Division Marechiyo Omaeda."

"Present," a large, heavy man said. He was incredibly tall, with the look of a man who takes in more than his fair share. He was balding in spots, but attempted made up for it with his pointed hair and sideburns.

"Captain of the Third Division Rojuro Otoribashi"

"Present," a tall man with shoulder-length blonde hair said.

"Captain of the Fourth Division Retsu Unohana"

"I am here," a woman with long dark hair, braided together in front responded.

"Captain of the Fifth Division…..well we are already aware of your presence Captain Hirako." Said Captain grumbled to himself at the statement.

"Captain of the Sixth Division Byakuya Kuchiki"

A man with shoulder length black hair nodded at Chojiro. He gave off an aura of wealth and superiority. It was rumored that the white scarf around his neck was worth more than mansions.

"Captain of the Seventh Division Love Aikawa"

"Present," another large man, this one with an afro and sunglasses responded.

"Captain of the Eighth Division Shunsui Kyoraku…….Captain Kyoraku…..CAPTAIN KYORAKU!"

The man in question shook himself awake and waved at Chojiro, signifying his presence. "Sorry about that, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"When do you Kyoraku….when do you….Captain of the Ninth Division Kensei Muguruma"

"I'm here alright," a man with short grey hair and no sleeves said. "Your damn lucky I am though."

Chojiro rolled his eyes and continued the role call. "Captain of the Tenth Division Sozuke Aizen"

"Here,"said a man with slicked back brown hair.

"I'm going to assume you are, but who really knows…..Captain of the Eleventh Division Kenpachi Zaraki."

"I'd rather be fighting," said a massive man with his hair arranged in spikes and an eye patch responded.

"I'm sure you'd rather be killing Zaraki, but now is not the place…..Captain of the Twelfth Division Mayuri Kurotsuchi."

"Yes…yes…I am here," a strange individual which could only be described as some twisted clown said.

"I'm not sure how I feel about that….and Captain of the 13th division Jushiro Ukitake"

"Here," a pale man with long white hair responded before breaking into a coughing fit."

"All present and accounted for, sir," Chojiro said, turning to the elderly man who nodded and stood.

"As you all know," he began. "One hundred and seventy years ago, the threat of the Shiba Clan was dealt with permanently,"

"Good riddance," Captain Kuchiki mumbled under his breath, but still audible to the captain-commander.

"Indeed Captain Kuchiki, however our sensors that have been monitoring pluses has come across a rather odd anomaly, one incoming Plus bore the mark of the Shiba clan." The captains eyes widened and turned their undivided attention to the Commander, even Captain Hirako seemed interested. "It was believed they were wiped out, however I will be taking no chances in this matter, all divisions are currently on standby until further notice.

"Yes sir!," they all responded in unison.

"Captain Omaeda," Yamamoto began.

"Yes sir!" said Captain responded.

"Send five of your stealth corp. to investigate Karakura for any sign of Soul Reaper activity, and if any is seen to capture said Soul Reaper."

"You wish to bring them here sir?," Captain Omaeda asked.

"Where else can a soul be properly executed?"


	12. Arrival

_Here's a picture of the revolver I based Seele Gewehr off of, minus the blue strip of course_. .org/images/thumb/a/a5/Colt-Anaconda_/400px-Colt-Anaconda_

_**Now, Soifon is not a captain because in my story she remained loyal to Yoruichi after she rescued Tessai and Kisuke. She left her position and disappeared to become Yoruichis eyes and ears in the soul society. The others are not captains out of necessity, keeping the Vizards as captains and keeping a lot of the new ones presented a shortage of space, however rest assured, the likes of the missing captains will be frequently used in the story. **_

"Ichigo, this is bad," Uryu said to his new ally.

"How is sending a soul to the afterlife bad," Ichigo asked. "Besides, you're the one who told me to do it in the first place."

"Ichigo, the soul society can track you with that," The quincy said, his eyes wide open. "They know you're here now.."

"Oh shit," Ichigo said, his eyes widening. "Uh….Urahara!"

"Now is no time for gibberish Ichigo!," Uryu exclaimed.

Ichigo shook his head. "No no ,follow me!" The Shiba shunpo'd away quickly, leaving a confused Uryu behind.

**Urahara…**Uryu thought…**could he mean! **Realization spread across his face, along with a slight grin. **Your just full of surprises Ichigo..** He then jetted after Ichigo, using the Quincy equivalent of Shunpo. He followed him for only half a minute or so when they stopped before a small, plain looking shop. "What is this place?"

"The shop of Kisuke Urahara," Ichigo responded. "He's the one who helped me control my power."

"KISUKE URAHARA!," Uryu exclaimed. "You mean THE Kisuke Urahara?,"

"I suppose so," Ichigo said, batting away a curtain and entering the building, followed by Uryu. "He's the only Kisuke I know." As Ichigo approached the back of the shop, he passed the sleeping forms of the two kids from earlier in the week. He took a quick glance, **Heh…you know Jinta actually looks half sane when he's asleep..** As he stepped into the backroom, he noticed that the trapdoor to the basement was open. He lept down, using his reaitsu to cushion his fall, followed by Uryu. As he looked around, he noticed that Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tatsuki were all staring at him.

"Well, I must say Ichigo, you've gotten yourself into a fine mess this time," Kisuke said. "That konso's going to draw the soul society to you like yellow jackets to spilled soda."

"Shut it Urahara, you never told me not to do that," said Ichigo. "How was I supposed to know?"

"Point taken," kisuke responded, standing up and walking towards Ichigo. "However, you must understand the seriousness of the situation. "And I assume this Quincy here taught you how to do it huh?"

**So it's true….he isn't dead..** Uryu thought while adjusting his glasses. "Let me introduce myself, I am.."

"Probably a descendant of the Ishidas if I'm correct," Kisuke interrupted.

"What?!," Uryu stepped back in surprise. "How would you know that?"

"The spiritual pressure you emit, the glasses, facial structure," Kisuke said.

As Kisuke was having fun with Uryu, a blur leapt down from the trapdoor and streaked towards where Yoruichi and Tatsuki were standing. The shape came to a halt and revealed itself to be a petite woman with dark hair arranged in two long braids. "Lady Yoruichi, I bring news." She said.

"Very good Soifon," Yoruichi responded. "What is it?,"

"The captain commander has recognized the presence of a member of the Shiba clan in this town, so he has instructed the acting Captain of the second division to carry out a capture mission." Soifon said.

"Anything else?"

"The Captain is sending his lieutenant and five members of the stealth force to carry out the operation."

"That's all?," an arriving Hiyori asked. "Kisuke, I say we meet them head on and smash the bastards!"

"I'm with her," Ichigo said. "The more I hear about this Soul Society, the more I want to kick its ass."

"I'm afraid that's not an option," Kisuke said, turning to his former Lieutenant. "We can't risk being discovered by the soul society."

"What do you want us to do?," Hiyori asked angrily. "Sit on our asses!"

"Hiyori, you must understand, if they can't find us they'll just go back to the Soul Society," Yoruichi said. Hiyori gave the woman a scowl but remained silent.

"As Yoruichi said, the best action is to stay hidden," Kisuke said. "My shop blocks spiritual pressure from leaving, so I'll doubt they'll find us here."

* * *

High above Karakura town, a gate was forming. When it solidified, it opened to reveal seven figures. Five of these were clad in tight black clothing which covered all but their eyes. The last and largest of the group was an easy two feet taller and twice as heavy-set. His large stomach poked out of his black robes and a badge signifying his rank was placed on his left shoulder. "Listen up you guys," the large figure said. "Our job is to find the Shiba punk, so each of you take a district and report back to me here if you have any news."

* * *

"Yes sir," the all responded in unison before breaking apart, beginning their search.

"They seem to be on the move," Kisuke said, sensing their spiritual pressure. "You should feel insulted at how weak they all are Yoruichi."

"Ever sense that Omaeda pig took over, the whole divisions gone to hell," Yoruichi said disgustedly.

Although aware of the danger, Tatsuki's expression was one of concern, for unknown to Ichigo, she had been informed of some things in his absence, mostly about his true history. "Hey Ichigo," Tatsuki said as she approached her friend.

"What's up Tatsuki?,"

"Is it true what they told me, about your family?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said with a sigh. "I guess it is."

"I'm sorry," she responded, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Don't be," Ichigo said. "I didn't know them anyway."

"That's really a shame," Hiyori said, approaching the pair. "The Shibas were great in their time."

Ichigo was momentarily in shock at the girls statement. **Was….was…she just not angry? **He shook in off before asking "What do you mean they were great?"

"Well you see Ichigo, even though they were one of the Four Great Houses, they always supported the Rukongai,"

"Rukongai?,"

"Where all the 'normal' souls live," Hiyori responded. "I'm from the Rukongai, so is that dumbass," she said while pointing back with her thumb to Kisuke. "In fact, they never lived in the Sereitei, where all the other noble families lived. If it wasn't for them, I don't think if would have become a soul reaper."

"Really?," asked Tatsuki. "Why's that?"

"Originally, the Soul Reaper Academy was restricted for Sereitei residents only, however Daicho Shiba, you're grandfather," she said, pointing towards Ichigo. "Decided that wasn't right, so he decided to let rukongai citizens in with his monetary assistance."

"If it was only for the Sereitei, wouldn't the other nobles oppose it?," Ichigo asked curiously.

"Well, duh!," HIyori said mockingly. "They raised hell about it, but hey it's not like they can do anything about it."

"Why not?"

"The government can't interfere with the nobles, that's how it's always been."

"It's good to see you finally acting civil," Kisuke chirped in from his seat.

"I'll show you civil!," Hiyori shouted before leaping at her captain and planting a kick to his face.

Said Captain just laid on the ground, faking injury while the blonde vented her anger. **Better on me than someone else I guess, at least I don't feel it…** He laid there for a little while longer before his eyes shot open. "Ichigo,"

"Yeah, what's up,"

"Before you came to see me, did you spend any time around your sisters?,"

"Yeah, why?,"

"Because two of those soul reapers are heading straight for your house,"

Ichigo's eyes widened and he lept to his feet, preparing to head home and fight off the invaders, but a hand grasped his forearm and stopped him in his tracks. He turned to see Urahara, his usual grin gone, replaced with a serious look. "What the hell Urahara!"

"Ichigo, if you go out there, all seven of them will be on you before you know it."

"I'll fight off every last one of them," Ichigo said angrily, his eyes beginning to lighten. "They will not touch my sisters."

"You can't handle them Ichigo," Kisuke said, tightening his grip. "You can't face them all alone."

"He won't be alone," Tatsuki said, approaching the two. "I'll go with him."

"I will too," Uryu said. "It will be my first opportunity to fight a true soul reaper after all."

Kisuke glared into Ichigos eyes, seeking a break in resolve or single drop of hesistance…but he found none. A grin crept across the shopkeeper's face as he let go of the boys arm. "You're just like a Shiba, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Running in recklessly," Ichigo smirked at the comment and shunpo'd up the ladder, followed shortly by Uryu and Tatsuki.

"I suppose you want me to help to don't you?," HIyori said, strapping on her zanpakto.

"No, I want to see what they can do," Kisuke said, slowly returning to his seat. Hiyori shrugged in response and shunpo'd up the ladder, probably to watch TV in the shop.

"Do you really think that's a good idea Kisuke?," Yoruichi asked, doubting his decision. "Those are true soul reapers out their after all."

"A wise assessment Lady Yoruichi!," Soifon said by her side, her voice full of admiration.

"Let's just see how it plays out," said Kisuke. "I think we'll be surprised.."

` The two shadowy figure leapt from building to building, closing in on the unusually high spiritual pressure. "This feels like a soul reapers energy," one of the figure said to the other.

"I agree, seems off though," the other replied.

"It's way to weak to have killed the hollows that have supposedly been destroyed, but it is defiantly not human.." They came to a halt directly above the Kurosaki Clinic. "This seems to be the place."

"Look out!,"

The soul reaper barely managed to move out of the way as a bright streak of energy ripped through where he had been seconds before. He looked behind him to see a group of three teenagers, one of them with a gun outstretched.

"Nice reflexes," Uryu said with a smirk.

"Who are you?," the Soul reaper asked, examining the trio.

"That's him!" the other one said pointing to Ichigo. "I'd know that face anywhere, it has to be him!,"

The first soul reaper examined the boy and chuckled. "Summon the others, we've found him." The second soul reaper blew a whistle that hung from around his neck, it emitted a loud, piercing noise, temporarily deafening Ichigo and his group. The soul reaper unsheathed his zanpakto and charged, "Prepare yourself Shiba!"

Ichigo drew Zangetsu and ran forward himself, clashing blades with the soul reaper. "Bring it on." The two locked blades, attempting to push each other back.

**What is this….** The soul reaper thought, as he was pushed back by the Shiba. He broke the lock and called over his partner.

Tatsuki tried to run forward and help, but was stopped by uryu. "What are you doing, it's two against one!"

"Think about it," Uryu said. "There are six of these guys, and their closing on our position. I sense one coming from the east and two more from the west."

Tatsuki nodded in conformation. "I'll take the east,"

Uryu adjusted his glasses and pulled out his second Seele Gewehr. "Then I'll take the west."

"Let's see you take on both of us Shiba!," the first soul reaper said, after his companion joined him. He nodded toward his partner and they both dashed towards Ichigo at incredible speed.

**Damn they're fast…** Ichigo thought, barely pulling zangetsu before him in time to parry the blow, but couldn't capitalize as he dodged the second swordsmans blow. He shunpo'd away quickly as he could, and attempted a counter attack, but found himself attacked from both sides. He swung at the first soul reaper in his sight, but was only capable of cutting his hood, revealing a man with short dark hair. Ichigo was barely able to avoid the seconds attack before again shunpoing away.

"You punk!," the unmasked soul reaper shouted. "I'll make you pay for that." He placed his hand on his zanpakto as it began to glow. "Glide…Shuriko."

Tatsuki stood focused, as she felt the foreign energy approaching. As they came into her line of sight, she drew out her power and ignited her fists, preparing for combat.

**What's this?** the soul reaper thought, stopping above Tatsuki. **A human girl with spiritual pressure… **"Out of the way girl, my fight is with the SHiba."

"Well that's just too bad," Tatsuki replied. "because you're not getting past me."

"Is that so?," the soul reaper questioned, shunpoing down and throwing a punch, only to have It caught in the girls hands. **What is this?** He thought, gazing at her flaming hands, yanking his back as his flesh began to sizzle. He gasped in pain and held his burned hand.

"You seem surprised," Tatsuki said with a smirk.

The soul reaper acknowledged his hand for a few seconds longer before drawing his zanpakto. "It seems I have underestimated you girl." He flipped his sword over, its tip facing the ground. "However, that will not happen again" He gripped the sword at two points, the tip and the hilt, "Split, Kunaycho"

**So this is a true soul reaper's spiritual pressure…..** Uryu thought, feeling his two targets rapidly approaching. **They seem unaware of my presence….how unfortunate.** Uryu brought up his Seele Gewehr and fired off a shot towards the approaching soul reapers. He was rewarded with a cry several seconds later. **Too easy…** However, a surge of spiritual pressure behind him caused him to start and through reflxes alone was he able to leap away from the attempted surprise attack.

"You're attack surprised me boy," the soul reaper said to Uryu, his mask had been blown off by the shot and blood was running down from his forehead. "Now you'll be surprised."

Uryu sensed the second soul reaper in enough time to draw Seele Schneider and block his zanpakto, bringing around his gun to fire at point blank, but the soul reaper shunpo'd away to avoid the shot, reappearing beside his wounded ally. "You too are stronger than I originally thought……how fun."

"Fun, oh we'll have fun alright," the wounded soul reaper said, grabbing the tip of his zanpakto and bending it at a ninety degree angle. "My zanpakto likes to have fun,"

"As does mine," his ally said also drawing his zanpakto. "However, we're not sure how fun it will be for you…"

"Rest assured I shall be adequately entertained," Uryu said, raising Seele Gewehr. "If you two don't die to quickly."

_**Eh, sorry to leave you guys hanging, but that's the end of chapter 12. Just as a point of comparison, at this point, the groups members are all member of the stealth force, so they are speed and agility specialists, not straight up fighters, allowing for their ability to easily outclass both Ichigo and Uryu in speed, however due to her training, Tatsuki was able to keep up.**_


	13. Battle over Karakura

_**Sorry about the long wait for the update, but I've had a lot of stuff going on with school. (German and Calculus **____**) **_

_**Alright, animelover1993 –Ichigo is a shiba because his father Isshin was before he came to the earth. **_

"Scary isn't it?," the unmasked Soul reaper asked Ichigo after his zanpakto had completed its transformation. "This is my zanpaktos true form." His Katana had changed shape into a three foot wide shuriken, its four points shining in the moonlight. He reared back and hurled it at Ichigo, who barely had enough time to pull zangetsu before him. Even so, the force of the shurikens impact drove him back forty feet before returning to its master.

**Great….its like a bladed boomerang..** Ichigo thought, straightening himself up. As the shinigami tossed again, Ichigo braced himself for impact, but shunpo'd away at the last second, appearing before the unmasked soul reaper. "Gotcha"

The shinigami eyes widened with surprise at the boys actions, Ichigo grinned and raised his zanpakto. He swung down, but his blade was blocked by the second soul reaper, who had also released his zanpakto, his a short spear. "You thought wrong, Shiba"

**Damn!** Ichigo thought leaping backwards. **The Shuriken!** He turned and tired to move out of the path of the returning Shuriken, but was still deeply gashed along his side. He cried out and clutched his bleeding side.

"Is that all you have Shiba?," the shinigami asked mockingly. "We had hoped you would be more of a challenge." The unmasked Shinigami grinned towards the Shiba before continuing. "However, you did manage to surprise me, and for that I shall tell you my name……Ryouta, fifth seat of the 2nd division."

"And I am Hitoshi, its 7th seat." The soul Reaper wielding the short spear said. "However, that matters not, for now you shall die." He rushed forward with his spear, attempting to stab through his target. Ichigo raised zangetsu, parried the short spear and attempted to capitalize.

"Oh no you don't!," Ryouta shouted, hurling his shuriken at Ichigo, who had to duck to avoid it.

**Damn it….** Ichigo thought, once again on the move from Hitoshi's spear. **I can't do anything without the other one butting in… **He shunpo'd to Ryouta, but the shinigami was faster, moving to the top of a nearby building. Ichigo charged Ryouta, leaping to the top of the building, but fell as his leg exploded in pain. He looked down to see Hitoshi's spear jutting out from his now bleeding leg. **What?!...**

"It's difficult isn't it Shiba?," Hitoshi's voice said from behind him. "You see, we members of the stealth force may not be combat specialists, however our teamwork is deadly." He approached the downed Ichigo and ripped the spear out of his leg, causing the boy to scream in pain. "You can't keep an eye on both of us as once."

Ryouta lept down to his comrade, smirking at the sight of the downed Ichigo. "Not what I expected Hitoshi."

"I know what you mean Ryouta," his comrade responded. "He seems much weaker than our reports indicated."

"Whatever the case, I'm gonna finish this bastard," Ryouta said. He raised his shuriken, and lunged downward, aiming for ichigos neck.

"Chain…..Zangetsu."

The soul reaper stopped mid lunge as a wave of spiritual pressure blew them both back forty feet. "What is this!," Ryouta said, shielding his face with his shuriken. His comrade Hitoshi stood quietly

The dust cleared and Ichigo stood before them, wielding his Cleaver once again. "Alright, lets try this again." Ichigo said, lowering zangetsu from his shoulder, pointing it at the two soul reapers.

"Well, well," Hitoshi said, smirking at Ichigo. "So you can release your zanpakto." Ichigo disappeared before the two and reappeared behind them, holding what remained of Hitoshi's mask. "Yeah, I can." The shocked soul reaper stared at the cloth in Ichigos hand with a stunned expression before shunpoing away with Ryouta.

"Where'd he get that kind of speed?," Routa asked, stunned at the turn of events. He stared at the boy before him, engulfed in a bright blue aura. **Maybe there was something to sending this many people..** Ichigo dashed forward and swung at the soul reapers, who barely had time enough to evade the swing. As they retreated, Ichigo spun Zangetsu's cloth around his hand and spun the blade, hurling it towards Ryouta. The Soul Reapers eyes widened in shock as the massive cleaver rocketed towards him. He tossed his Shuriken, in an attempt to disrupt the blades flight but gasped as his own blade was knocked aside. He resorted to Shunpo to escape the blades path, reappearing atop a nearby building. ** He's on an entirely different level now..**

Ichigo yanked on the cloth and brought Zangetsu back to his outstretched hand. He heard a strange whistling noise and turned around quickly, catching Hitoshi's spear inches from his face. The soul reaper that had thrown it's jaw almost hit the floor at the sight of his own spear being caught. Ichigo smirked at the stunned Hitoshi. "So, am I still a disappointment?"

**This is massive shift in power** Hitoshi thought. **How do we fight him now…** His confusion subsided however, as an idea came to him. "Ryouta!, get over here!"

Ichigo's face was somewhat surprised as the weapon in his hands began to glow. Soon after that it disappeared from his hands and reappeared in Hitoshi's. **What the hell? **_Zanpaktos cannot be wielded by any save their wielder ichigo, if you grasp it, it will return to them. _**Huh, guess that makes sense. **From his position, Ichigo watched with curiosity as the two soul reapers conversed. **What could they be talking about….. **_I can't be sure Ichigo, however it cannot be in your favor, I would be cautious…_

After some time, the two soul reapers turned and faced Ichigo with smirks of confidence on their faces. "Alright Ryouta, you know what to do," The soul reaper nodded and held back his massive shuriken. As he did so, Hitoshi lept on top of it and was tossed along with the large shuriken towards the waiting Ichigo.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the attack and began to spin Zangetsu, tossing it once it reached the correct speed. Hitoshi smirked as the cleaver collided with the Shuriken and knocked him off his perch. When airborn, he threw his spear at Ichigo, whose weapon was still flying away from him. Unconcerned, the young Shiba once again grasped the spear with one hand before it hit.

"Shakkaho!"

"What the hell!," Ichigo quickly turned around to find Ryouta mere feet from his back, palm outstretched forming a large red energy ball. **Jinta.. **As the shot fired, Ichigo tugged the cloth on his sword, and took the full force of the blast.

"heh, got him," Ryouta said, lowering his palm. "He took that blast head on, there's no way he would survive…" As he peared into the dissipating dust, a grim sight met his eyes. Ichigos massive cleaver had reversed direction and was flying point first directly towards the dark haired 5th seat. The soul reaper barely had the time to gasp, before the blade pierced his chest, silencing him forever.

"Ryouta!," Hitoshi shouted at his fallen comrade. He watched as the dark haired soul reaper fell to the ground with the massive cleaver buried deep into his chest. He could see the cloth tighten as it was again yanked out, making a sickening ripping sound. Hitoshi turned towards the figure in the dust, who emerged with patched of burns all over his body. "I'll kill you!"

He dashed towards Ichigo, his returned spear before him, attempting to ram the young Shiba. His gasped as the boy disappeared before him. Sharp pain shot through his body, causing Hitoshi to grasp his chest, looking down to see blood.

"I'm sorry,"

Hitoshi turned, confused at the Shiba's comment. "wh..wie.." he mumbled out, trying to speak coherently. As the injured soul reaper fell forward, his eyes turned to his fallen friend, who was already dissipating into spirit particles. **See you soon….old friend..**

As Hitoshi hit the ground, Ichigo also fell to his knees. He was exhausted, the soul reapers were much stronger than he expected. He breathed heavily for a minute or two before rolling over flat on his back. **I think I should just lay here….for a minute or two..**

* * *

Tatsuki watched in surprise as the soul reapers blade split into two equally sized, short blades with glass bulbs beneath the hilt. "I would never hit a woman," the soul reaper said to her, clutching each blade. "Cutting however, is entirely different."

"Good luck getting anywhere near me," Tatsuki said, dropping into her fighting stance.

"You think you are equal to my twin sai?," The man asked her. When the girl nodded in response, the man raised an eyebrow. "You are a brave girl.."

He lunged forward with his Sai, but Tatsuki dodged his strike and caught his wrist. She then drove her knee hard into the mans chest, or so she thought. The copy dissipated into shadow when her knee made impact. **After image.. ** Her eyes widened when her opponent reappeared behind her, but she instinctively back flipped and connected a kick with the top of the mans head.

He grunted on impact, but shrugged off the blow to Tatsuki's surprise. He grabbed her leg and used it to throw her towards a nearby building. As she tumbled through the air, the girl managed to straighten herself out and land feet-first on the side of the building. She braced herself on contact and pushed off of the concrete structure, the force breaking some windows. **He's tough… I don't think my normal kicks can hurt him.. **As she flew back towards her surprised assailant she held one arm before her and tightened her right hand into a fist by her side. Midway to the soul reaper, she accelerated with shunpo and caught him with a strike to the side of his head, sending him flying into the very building he had attempted to toss her into, causing it to collapse on impact.

**What is this…** he mumbled, picking himself out of the surrounding Wreckage. As he stood, Tatsuki could see his now exposed face. The soul reaper had a single long brown braid of hair hanging down past his shoulders. His face now had a large burn on his right cheek, where Tatsuki's fist had connected, but besides that, the soul reaper seemed unscathed from the impact with the large concrete building. "You are an interesting one , girl." He raised his hand to his wound and concentrated spiritual pressure into the palm of his hand, causing his burn to disappear. "You seem surprised," he said, noting Tatsuki's shocked expression. "Well don't be," He dropped into a fighting stance, one sai held before him point up, the other point down behind his back. "I am Takeshi the 3rd seat of the 2nd division, directly under Lieutenant Omaeda………..and I'll be the one killing you today."

**Below the Lieutenant?.......not sure what that means, but I'm sure it means he's strong. **Tatsuki thought, bringing herself into a defensive stance to fend off whatever attack may be coming. **With weapons like that, he'll be wanting to stab, not slash…** Takeshi disappeared and reappeared before Tatsuki, who expecting this tactic, lashed out with one of her flaming fists. Takeshi blocked her strike with the flat of his Sai, the girls fist extinguishing on impact. **What?! **Not hesitating, Tatsuki swung her other fist around, which like the other was blocked and extinguished.

"Yet again you see surprised," said Takeshi.

"Shut up!," Tatsuki roared at the soul reaper, reigniting her fists and striking out again. With every blow her fists would be extinguished upon contact with the Sai.

"This is a waste you know," Takeshi said to the girl gone berserker. "The more you attack, the more you shall accelerate your demise."

"What's that supposed to mean!," Tatsuki shouted angrily, grasping both fists together over her head and bringing them down like a hammer.

"Simple, I can show you," Takeshi responded. Using Shunpo, he quickly moved away from the girls attack and held out held the Sai's hilt out towards Tatsuki. "Take a look, notice anything different?"

Tatsuki's eyes widened at what she saw. "The bulbs, their red now!"

"Precisely," the soul reaper responded. "You see, every time I blocked your attacks, I absorbed all the energy in you fists." "And that means…" Takeshi brought both Sai to his chest and began to spin them around each other at incredible speed, the red light growing in intensity as his hands became blurs. "I can use it against you!" He thrust his now glowing right hand forward, firing a crimson jet of flame towards the stunned Tatsuki, who was completely engulfed in its burning embrace. "You had no chance girl, consider yourself lucky to have made me call forth my zanpakto.."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"What?" Takeshi said, stunned to still hear the girls voice. He saw the Fire begin to gather where she used to be, spiraling around her still vague outline. "How is this possible, no human could survive that jet of flame!"

"That's your mistake," Tatsuki said, her form becoming visible behind the flames. "These were my flames, my power……why would they burn me?"

The Soul Reaper regained his composure and gripped his Sai tightly. "Whatever the case may be, I can still kill you with my sai!" The soul reaper charge the flaming girl, his Sai poised to strike in wither hand.

Tatsuki closed his eyes and focused, attempting to channel her power into her right arm. The flames seemed magnetically drawn to the girls forearm, completely covering it in bright, burning flames. **I've never used it in battle before…but here goes nothing.. ** She thrust her flaming arm forward, almost a mirror of takeshi's actions. "DoragonKiba!" The flames rocketed off her arm in a continuous stream, the front of which morphed into the head of a fierce dragon, ready to consume all in its path.

Takeshi's eyes widened at the attack, causing him to stop and raise his Sai. "Are you a fool girl!" he shouted. "I'll just absorb this attack as well!" As the flames collided, his blades began to absorb them. **It's too much!** Takeshi realized with horror. "I can't stop it, it's too much!....." He cried out in terror as the massive stream of fire completely engulfed his body.

Tatsuki panted, clutching her now steaming arm, completely drained of energy. As the fire dissipated, she saw that naught but the soul reapers ashes remained, causing her to sigh in relief before turning to look for the others. **I hope ichigo and that other guy are okay……..they had to deal with two of these guys..**

* * *

T**hese two don't seem so strong** Uryu thought, glancing over the soul reapers before him. The one whose mask he had broken had summoned his zapakto, which took on the sickle attached to a long chain with a large weight on the other hand, a kusari-gama , a traditional ninjitsu weapon. The other, smaller one had changed his zanpakto into what appeared to be a sack of some kind, the contents of which Uryu did not know. **I'll have to be careful around that one….who knows what he's hiding in there.**

"Sizing us up, eh human?," the soul reaper with the broken mask said.

"Getting ready to piss yourself already?," the other one chimed in, mocking the Quincy,

"I believe your mistaken," Uryu said, raising Seele gewehr. "I am neither a human, one who is preparing to urinate." "I am a Quincy, and if there's anything I'm getting ready to do, than its killing you two."

"I Quincy you say," The soul reaper with the broken mask said. "I killed many Quincy back in the war…I had no idea there were more around.."

"What did you just say?," Uryu asked, his hand tightly clutching the grip of Seele Gewehr.

"I said I killed several Quincy a while back," The soul reaper said, his twisted grin growing with every syllable. "they all begged for mercy beneath my feet……every last one.."

"YOU LIEING BASTARD!," Uryu lowered his Seele Gewehr, placing it on his belt, while he charged the soul reaper with his drawn Seele Schneider. He swung down, his blade catching on the chain of the soul reapers zanpakto. He felt a small prick on the back of his neck, but pushed forward, wanting to drive his blade as deep into the soul reaper as was possible.

"Just like the others, you leave yourself open," the soul reaper said, swinging his leg forward to kick uryu in the stomach. The Quincy gasped as the air was knocked out of him, his hands unconsciously letting go of Seele Schneider, which fell to the street below, its blade fizzling out. The soul reaper then swung the end of the chain attached to the weight, slamming into Uryu's side, causing him to cry out in pain as he fell to the ground below. "Did you plant the poison?," He asked the Soul Reaper carrying the pouch.

"Yes, I doubt he even suspected it," he responded. "I pricked him on the back of the neck while he was preoccupied with charging you."

"Very good, it seems we will need it for this one, I was barely able to hold back his attack" the soul reaper with the broken mask said to his ally. He looked down, wishing to finish the battle quickly, but could not find the Quincy. "Where'd he go?!"

"Right here," A voice said from behind him. The Soul Reaper turned to see Uryu directly behind him, Seele Gewehr inches from his head. He fired his weapon, but the soul reaper shunpo'd away in time. The other soul reaper however, while blinded by the blue flash, took the blast in the chest. It knocked him out of the sky, hitting the ground below. Uryu used the Quincy Hirenkyaku to appear on the ground before the downed soul reaper. "Where is the antidote?"

"I won't tell Quincy," the soul Reaper said, clutching his stomach in pain.

"And why's that?"

"You're about to die!," the soul reaper shouted. His hands, which had been feigning care for his stomach, were actually rooting around in his ouch for throwing needles. As he brought his hands up, he threw dozens of the sharp, poisoned darts from no more than ten feet from the young Quincy. Unfazed, Uryu fired his seele Gewehr quickly and accurately, knocking every needle out of the sky.

"You were saying?"

"I….uh..well…I," The soul reapers face switched from fear to a smirk.

Uryus instincts served him well. He used Hirenkyaku to jet forward, taking the dart-throwing soul reaper with him, barely avoiding the sharp blade of the sickle, which sliced where his head had been seconds before. He reappeared forty feet away, hovering above the city, holding the poison dart wielding soul reaper hostage with Seele Gewehr to his head. "One more move and I kill him."

"Go ahead, I don't care," the Soul Reaper with the broken mask said. "Doing so would kill your only chances of getting the antidote."

Uryu was shocked at the soul reapers heartlessness, but held the soul reaper hostage anyway. "Really..than I'll just…I'll just. Suddenly, he began to feel extremely weak, his vision beginning to blur.

"I see the poison is beginning to do its job," The soul reaper in his grasp stated, elbowing Uryu in the ribs, causing him to release his grasp and fall to the ground below. "It's over now, the soul reaper said, returning to his unmasked ally."

"You're losing your touch," the unmasked soul reaper said.

"No way," the other soul reaper said, standing directly in front of the other, his eyes now enraged. "I'd like to see you in a hostage situation!"

As Uryu hit the ground, he could feel his consciousness begin to fade. He attempted to sit up, but his hand slipped on something rounded, causing him to slip back down. He looked up, attempting to see what it was. He was surprised to find it to be his dropped Seele Schneider from the when he charged the soul reaper. **Maybe.. **He reached for the white cylinder which now seemed to be miles away, eventually grasping it in his increasingly weakening hands. With a great effort, he flipped himself over almost blacking out from the strain. His arm raised the unactivated cylinder and dropped it into the gun barrel of Seele Gewehr. He looked up at the two arguing soul reapers and a shadow of a smile came across his face. **Their lined up..perfect…** With his last remaining strength, he pulled the trigger, pouring all of his remaining energy into the dormant cylinder, activating the blade and firing it like a bullet before collapsing to the ground, falling into darkness. His last vision was of his flying sword impaling the two soul reapers like a shish kabob, and the shocked expressions on their faces.

* * *

Soon after, a pink blur flashed over to the fallen Quincy. As she came to a standstill, Hiyori picked up the fallen Seele Schneider, feeling disgusted at what soul reaper spiritual pressure remained. **Good riddance to bad rubbish..** She pocketed the item and looked around until she found what she was looking for. "Their you are four-eyes," she said, approaching the unconscious Uryu. She reached into her pocket for her cell phone and dialed the Urahara shop. "Yeah, I found his unconscious ass,"……"No, apparently he offed two of the bastards.."……."why not, I'm the pack mule rig.." She stopped midsentence as she felt a strong wave of spiritual pressure from farther into town. **That feels like a lieutenant..** "Something just came up Kisuke, send Tessai or something.." She pocketed the phone and turned towards the source of the Spiritual Pressure. "Finally….someone worth fighting.."

* * *

"Ichigo!," Tatsuki called out, limping towards his sprawled out body.

"Hmm…meh," Ichigo mumbled, attempting to sit up, but laid back down, his burns from the kido still freshly throbbing.

"You alright?," Tatsuki asked, taking a seat beside her burned friend.

"Oh, I've seen better days," Ichigo stated, trying not to move his body. "But I should be good after about a week of sleep."

"Same here, I am completely exhausted."

"Well that just makes my job easier doesn't it," the two turned as fast as they could, Ichigo still hissing in pain. What the saw was a man who easily stood nine feet tall and weighing in excess of seven hundred pounds. "At least those idiots made my job easier before dying like that."

"I won't let you touch my sisters!," Ichigo said, struggling to stand despite the pain.

"Sisters?," Lieutenant Omaeda asked, confused. "Kid, I'm here for you."

"Me?"

"Of course," Omaeda answered. "You're scheduled for execution, and it's my job to fetch you."

"Well I'm not going," Ichigo said, trying to raise his now sealed Zangetsu, but finding it hard enough to stand.

"You're choice then," Omaeda said, unsheathing his zanpakto. "Mash, Kanadzuchi." The output of spiritual pressure forced both Tatsuki and Ichigo to their knees. "I'd rather end this quickly, dinner is in an hour." His zanpakto had shifted from a large katana to an even larger war hammer. He lifted it over his head and began to bring it down.

**I can't move….his spiritual pressure…I..too much** Ichigo thought, his body unresponsive to his commands too move. He could see the large head of the hammer coming closer and closer promising that it would crush his skull, but the blow never came.

"What is this!," Omaeda shouted. "You shouldn't be able to move, much less stop my hammer!"

"Of course he couldn't dumbass!," a voice said from beneath his hammer. As Lieutenant Omaeda lifted it, he saw Hiyori with one arm holding up her katana. "I stopped your damn hammer."

"Where have you been this whole time, I didn't sense you at all," Omaeda asked, confused at the girls appearance.

"I didn't want to get involved," Hiyori answered matter-of-factly. "However, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to finally fight a lieutenant again." Before Omaeda could respond, the small girl before him disappeared from sight. Instinctively, Omaeda swung his zanpakto around him in circles, preventing an attack from any side. "What the hell are you doing?," Omaeda stopped and looked up to see Hiyori sitting atop a nearby building looking at him like he was insane. "I just took those two to somewhere safe, now it's just you and me."

Omaeda readied himself and charged the small girl after she leapt down to his level. He jumped up into the air, and slammed his hammer into the ground where she had been, only to create a massive crater and demolishing half of the surrounding block. "Where did she go?" He heard a sigh and looked up to see Hiyori hovering directly above him, and as he did so, received a strong left hook, knocking him onto his back.

"You have got to be kidding me, you're a Lieutanant?," Hiyori asked the large man on the ground. He sat up at her statement, his nose now bleeding profusely.

"I'll have you know I'm the second son of the Omaeda Household, Marechiyo Omaeda." The injured lieutenant said. "And my brother just happens to be the captain."

"Well that explains a lot," Hiyori said, drawing her zanpakto. "Chop Cleanly, Kubikiri Orochi," Hiyori's Zanpakto began to glow a brilliant pink and grow in size. As her immense spiritual pressure increased, Lieutenant Omaeda began to sweat profusely and hyperventilate, he was terrified. Her zanpakto became a shape somewhat similar to Ichigo's Zanpakto, but with a jagged, serrated edge. "It's people like you that disgust me Omaeda." Hiyori said, slowly walking towards the panicking Lieutenant. "Play the bully in life, but as soon as you meet someone stronger, panic and run home to momma."

"Don't Kill me, please don't kill me," Lieutenant Omaeda whined, his back up against a wall.

"Don't kill you?," Hiyori asked. "Please, I'm doing you a favor by saving you from living with a cowards shame, you should be happy!" She raised her zanpakto, but stopped on the downswing as her cell phone began to ring. She dropped her sword to her side and answered it. "Yeah?"….."What the hell do you mean?"……"but"…."oh goddamit." Hiyori sighed and punched the wall beside Omeada in anger, causing the entire building to collapse. "Just go back to the soul society."

"Wha….what?"

"My boss just saved your ass, now get moving before I change my mind."

"Yes ma'am," Omaeda said as Hiyori shunpo'd away. He fell on the ground in relief and exhaustion, the girls spiritual pressure was incredible. He waited until he got his breath then used his special key to open the gate to the soul society. **Bro's not gonna like this…**

* * *

"NOT ONLY DO YOU COME BACK EMPTY HANDED, BUT ON THE RETREAT AS WELL!," The captain-commander shouted at the recently returned Lieutenant Omaeda.

"I apologize captain commander, the resistance was much greater than anticipated.." the Lieutenant groveled at the feet of the head captain. "There was this one girl…"

"SILENCE, I WILL HEAR NO MORE OF YOUR EXCUSES LIEUTENANT OMAEDA!," the head captain responded. "GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON AS TO WHY I SHOULD NOT INCINERATE YOU WHERE YOU KNEEL!"

Omaeda's mind raced, frantically attempting to come up with some scrap of information. "Well…I…uh..I…"

"TAKE HIM AWAY!"

"NO!," Omaeda shouted in protest. "Uh….his sisters! The Shiba boy said he had sisters!"

"WHAT?!," the captain-commander said disbelievingly.

"Yes, the boy said he wanted to protect his sisters." Omaeda said, sensing some small light of hope.

The captain-commander seemed to contemplate his words before turning to the captain of the twelfth division. "Captain Kurotsuchi, did you acquire energy reading from Karakura town at around this time."

"Yes, head Captain, as per your request I analyzed the energy readings at the time of the mission." Captain Kuritsuchi told the captain-commander, pulling sheet of paper from his haori.

"And what were the results?"

"Surprisingly, we found three signatures similar to those of a Lieutenant level Shinigami and one high even for a Lieutenant, some very powerful foes indeed."

"Anything else?,"

"Yes, there were three readings all in the same building on one part of the town." "They were not particularly high, but higher than what a usual human would have."

The captain Commander turned to face the still kneeling Omaeda. "Congratulations, you have just prolonged your existence."

"Thank you Head Captain!," the frightened captain said before quickly shuffling out of the room.

The Captain-Commander turned to face the captains before him. "As you no doubt now know, there are no less than four highly powerful entities within Karakura Town." "Because a Captain is not allowed into the world of the living, this task must be dealt with through our Lieutenants, of which four shall be needed…..are any Captains willing to nominate their Lieutenant?"

"I will nominate my Lieutenant Captain-Commander," the captain of the sixth division Byakuya Kuchiki stated.

"Yes, he has a strong record of service," said the Head Captain.

"I will also nominate my Lieutenant for consideration," said captain of the tenth division Sozuke Aizen.

"Very well captain Aizen,"

"My Lieutenant need to get out more, could he be part of the mission?," Captain Hirako of the fifth division said.

"Yes, yes, captain Hirako, this mission would suit his tastes."

"Head Captain, I would like to nominate my Lieutenant as well," said Captain Ukitake of the thirteenth division.

The captain-commander stared at Ukitake before responding. "Captain Ukitake, your Lieutenant is not suited to this type of mission."

"I'm sorry, but I must respectfully disagree Head-captain,"

"Your Lieutenant is a former resident of the Rukongai, captain Ukitake, he is worthless against opponents of this level."

"Head Captain, please allow him to go," Ukitake pleaded. "If he foils the mission in any way, I will never doubt you again."

The head-captain regarded Ukitake's words before continuing. "Very well Captain Ukitake, I shall grant you this one concession, but be warned, if your Lieutenant fails his task than you shall both be severely punished."

Ukitake nodded his thanks with a grin. **Finally, he'll be able to prove himself.**

"It is decided than," the head captain stated. "Lieutenants Toushiro Hitsugaya, Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tosen, and Renji Abari shall participate in our next operation in the human world."

"Yes Head Captain," the 13 captains said in unison.

"Dismissed."

_**Ok, hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. For a point of comparison, Ichigo, Tatsuki and Uryu are all at about the same level. That's why a Gave Tatsuki one high seat instead of two low ones like Ichigo and uryu, to show their even levels. Omeada is super-weak because of how he got his position, and his spiritual pressure sent both Ichigo and Tatsuki to their knees because of their exhausted states. **_

_**I also noticed that my link did not completely come up last time, so here they are for the Seele Gewehr, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with kusari-gama. **_

_**Kusari-gama **_

_**Seele Gewehr .**_


	14. Aftermath and Preperations

_**Ok, heres an update. BTW, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask them. I don't want for someone to read through unsure of something which makes them lost at some point in the future. Clearing some things up, The canon Omaeda which wields Getsuburi is the captain now, his brother 'fought' Hiyori and wields a hammer. Also, when reading the chapter remember that the world is AU, so some of the captains and Lieutenants may not act in accordance with their canon , as always feedback is appreciated.**_

"Permission to enter, Captain Aizen?,"

"Yes," the suave captain of the tenth division said, looking up from his paperwork. At his response, the door to the captains office opened, revealing a tall man with silver hair. He wore the traditional black clothes of a soul reaper, but with the badge of a lieutenant over his left shoulder.

"You requested to see me?," the silver haired man asked, his mouth never falling out of a wide grin.

"Yes I did Gin," Captain AIzen said, turning to face the Lieutenant. "You will soon be sent out on a mission to the world of the living."

"What for?,"

"There seems to be someone of interest there," Aizen responded coolly.

"Must be pre-ty important to send a lieutenant,"

"Even more so to send four,"

The grin on the fox-faced Lieutenant faltered before his answer. "Four?"

"Yes," answered Aizen. "He deemed it necessary to send the Lieutents of the tenth, fifth, sixth, and thirteenth divisions."

Ichimaru seemed to think for a small time before the grin returned to his face. "Captain Aizen, would this person of interest…… to us?"

"That's why I'm sending you Gin," said Aizen. "I want you to evaluate the target for me."

"And if he isn't useful?,"

"Allow him to be brought here for execution, if he is however, make sure he stays in the world of the living….he would be of no use to me here." Ichimaru nodded with his eternal grin and made his way towards the exit. "However, I do advise you to not engage him in combat."

Ichimaru's face twisted in a confused look. "Why not?,"

"I don't believe you'd be able to bring yourself to fight him." The comment succeeded in raising one of Ichimaru's eyebrows, further confusing the Lieutenant. "Trust me, find another target, evaluate from a distance."

Ichimaru sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ya know, I don't think I'll ever understand you, Captain." Aizen nodded at his Lieutenant's exit before reaching under his desk and pressing a previously unnoticed button. A space opened on his desk, allowing for a small screen to raise itself from the hidden compartment. The screen crackled and buzzed as it came to life; the screen displaying that it was attempting to establish a connection.

Before long, the picture came into focus, revealing a man on the other end of the line. "Ah yes, you have something to tell me Sozuke?,"

"That is correct," Aizen said. "I just wished to inform you that Gin will be sent to the world of the living to find the Shiba boy, along with Kaname Tosen, Renji Abarai, and Toushiro Hitsugaya."

"I see…, however I don't remember the last name…."

"He is the very young yet supremely skilled Lieutenant of the sixth division, he graduated twelve years ago, yet is now the Lieutenant under none other than captain Kuchuki."

"hmm….interesting.." the man on the other side said, scratching his chin.

"Sir…"

"what?"

"Is what I've heard of this boy accurate?"

"Depends… what have you heard?"

"That he gained skikai and defeated two seated officers of the stealth force single handedly, and all within a weak of discovering his powers."

"That would be true."

"I see,"

"Do you believe he would be an asset to our endeavors?"

"I believe so, however you know what must first occur,"

"Surely, and I will make the necessary arrangements,"

"Well if that's all…."

"It is, go back to your nap," After the comment, the signal cut off, leaving nothing but static on the screen. **Finally, perhaps it can be done.**

* * *

**Late again I see…..** A dark skinned man thought. He was sitting on a bench in the barracks of the fifth division. Aside from the traditional dress of a soul reaper Lieutenant, the man in question wore a set of white goggles which covered his eyes, as well as a bright orange scarf around his neck. **Captain Hirako….you summon me for something important….but do not appear yourself…disgraceful.. **The Lieutenant was constantly frustrated at his own captain, whose laziness wholly disgusted his Lieutenant. He really couldn't remember why he became the mans lieutenant, but believed it had something to do with the mans demeanor. A man whose to lazy to arrive on time would probably do very little in the way of bloodshed, and that's just how tosen liked it.

"I see you're early again Kaname," Captain Hirako said, approaching the seated Lieutenant. "

"it was not I who was early, it was you who was late," Tosen responded, his voice holding bitterness.

"You seem peeved today Kaname," Captain Hirako plopped down beside his Lieutenant and leaned back lazily.

"Please handle yourself with more dignity Captain Hirako,"

"Please, you can't even see me Kaname, how would you know?" The Lieutenants fists clenched, but before he could respond, his captain spoke. "I brought you here to go on a mission Kaname,"

The Lieutenant though caught by surprise, did not outwardly show it. "What is it."

"Gee, you sound soooo thrilled Kaname," Hirako said, rolling his eyes. "I thought it would do you some good to visit the human world."

"Why am I being sent to the human world Captain?," Tosen asked.

"Apparently those Shiba guys weren't wiped out like we thought, the big guy's sendin you and three other lieutenants to fetch him."

"Shiba's still alive?," Tosen questioned. "How is that so?"

"Beats me Kaname," Hirako said, lifting himself up from the bench. "I try not too think to deeply into things. "

**How is that possible…** Tosen thought. **With them still around, who knows what might happen. **

* * *

"You wanted to see me Captain Ukitake?," said a man with fiery red hair, vaguely resembling a pineapple. He was standing in the office of the current captain of the thirteenth division, Jushiro Ukitake.

"Yes Renji, I have good news," Ukitake said, a genuine smile on his face. "It seems you will soon be put on assignment into the world of the living."

"WHAT?!," Renji answered, shocked at the captains statement.

"Yes, there is a mission of utmost importance, and I volunteered you as one of the four to go," Ukitake said to his disbelieving Lieutanant.

"Whatever it is, I'll do it captain," Renji said, slamming his fist over his heart. "I appreciate the opportunity to prove myself."

"I admire the conviction Renji," said Ukitake. "Your mission will be to seek out and capture an enemy of soul society in Karakura town."

"Great a fight!," Renji said, his blood itching to prove himself. "What is it?, hollows, adjuchas, a traitor?!"

**Great…I was hoping he wouldn't ask..** Jushiro sighed before answering the question. "Your enemy is a remaining member of the once believed wiped-out Shiba clan."Renji froze in place at the Captains words. The captain who had now found the floor very interesting.

"What did you just say?,"

"I said, your mission is to capture a surviving member of the Shiba clan, believed to be the son of either Isshin or Kaien Shiba." Ukitake repeated quickly, his voice becoming softer with every syllable.

"I refuse," Renji's reply came quickly as he turned from the captain.

**I should have expected as much..** Ukitake thought to himself. **Being from the Rukongai, he sees those people as heros..** He looked up to see his Lieutenant facing away from him, his hands balled into fists. "Renji please, this is your opportunity to prove yourself to everyone, to show them that you belong in the ranks of the soul reapers!"

"I won't do it," Renji said. "I owe that family my life, I'll be damned before I raise my blade against them."

"I understand that Renji," captain Ukitake said to his upset Lieutenant. "However you have to remember, they are a threat to all of us here in the soul society, yourself included."

"I don't care!," Renji shouted, turning back to his captain. "If you had been through the same things I have, you wouldn't either! If it wasn't for them, I would be back in the Rukongai fighting for my life!"

**Looks like I'll have to take drastic measures..** Ukitake thought. "Well lieutenant Abarai, I'm not sure how captain Kuchiki would feel about your stainding."

"WHY WOULD I GIVE A DAMN WHAT THAT OLD BLOWHARD HAS TO SAY?!," Renji shouted. "I'VE HATED HIS GUTS MY ENTIRE LIFE!!"

"However, you are courting his sister," Ukitake added. "I wonder how he would feel if he knew you sided with his mortal enemies….I must say he wouldn't allow you to see her anymore."

"You…you…HOW DARE YOU BRING RUKIA INTO THIS!?," Renji roared at the white haired captain.

"Accept the mission or I shall inform captain Kuchiki immediately Lieutenant Abarai," Ukitake said, his face now a mask of seriousness.

The Lieutenant glared at the captain with eyes full of anger and pain. "FINE! I'll cooperate you bastard." Renji said through gritted teeth. He turned to walk out of the office, and as he was midway through the doorway turned back to the white-haired captain. "However, as soon as I get back, I'm handing in my resignation."

Captain Ukitake watched as his Lieutenant stormed out in a fit of rage. **Don't be a fool Renji….you must see how rare an opportunity like this is….don't waste your chance..**

* * *

"Captain, may I ask where we are going," a small boy with white hair and green eyes asked the man before him.

The man turned back to the boy, revealing himself to be captain of the sixth division Byakuya Kuchiki. "To the soul reaper graveyard Lieutenant Hitsugaya.'

"Doesn't a soul return to the world of the living when it's time here is up?," Hitsugaya asked his captain.

"Usually," Captain Kuchiki responded. "However, when a soul is deemed too dangerous to continue existence, it is eliminated."

"Eliminated?,"

"It is executed, afterwards the soul ceases to exist."

Histsugaya's eyes widened, but quickly returned to normal. "If these souls are considered so dangerous, than why is there a graveyard for them?"

"Tradition," Captain Kuchiki bluntly stated.

"It really doesn't make sense though, why honor your criminals?"

The captain stopped and gave Hitsugaya a cold glare. "Tradition," he repeated, before continuing down the path towards the soul reaper graveyard. "Never doubt tradition Lieutenant, things are they way they are for a reason."

**I probably shouldn't have asked him that….his face said it all** Hitsugaya thought as he too started off again behind his captain. The young Lieutenant had always been exceedingly bright, some even considered him a prodigy, but his best ability was reading people. He could look at someone and tell you how they felt about anything, sometimes even what had caused it. **Still…I wonder why this place even exists..**

The pair continued walking until they came into a clearing with a large stone slab in the center. It seemed impossibly old, and was covered in vines and moss, trimmed with what seemed to be minimal effort. "The name are listed here on this slab."

Hitsugaya stepped forward and began to try and read some of the listed names, but they were all worn beyond recognition. "How old are these names, Captains?"

"Some are older then General Yamamoto himself Lieutenant Hitsugaya," Captain Kuchiki said, watching touching some of the older indentions.

**That's kind of hard to believe….. **Hitsugaya thought. **The old man's ancient..**

"These are the ones I wish for you to see," Captain Kuchiki called out, pulling the Lieutenant from his thoughts.

The young Lieutenant crossed over to where his captain was standing to read the names he had pointed out. "Coyote Starrk….Tia Harribel….Ulqouirra Cifer….," He found the names stretched on, but didn't bother to read any further. "Captain Kuchiki, why are these name so important?"

"Why?," the captain in question responded. He again pointed to the names before responding. "These are the captains who defected from Soul Society one-hundred and Seventy years ago."

Toushiros eyes widened as realization spread across his face. "The same time as the last incident with the Shiba clan!"

"Precisely, so now do you understand the importance of your mission Lieutenant?," Byakuya Kuchiki asked the small boy before him.

"Yes, sir," he responded. .

"Good," the captain responded. "Make sure it stays that way."

* * *

"GODDAMNIT KISUKE!,"

Ichigo awoke with a start at the shout. **Where the hell..** He quickly looked at his surroundings, finding himself in the training area beneath the Urahara Shop. **How did I get here… **He tried to sit up, but searing pain ripped through his abdomen. He hissed and clutched his gut, returning to his prone position.

"Looks like he's finally awake," mumbled Tessai, looking up from his current patient. Tessai, being the former captain of the Kido Corps was proficient with its healing properties. He was currently working on the badly poisoned Quincy, finding the Soul Reaper poison irritatingly difficult to cure. He looked over to Kisuke, preparing to inform him of Ichigos awakening, but saw that he currently had his hands full. "Kisuke, the boys awake,"

The former captain took a sandal to the face, but turned to nod towards Tessai. "I'll see to him," Before Hiyori could land another blow, he used shunpo to appear beside the injured Ichigo, inciting a cry of rage from the angered girl. "So, not as easy as you thought , eh Ichigo,"

"Shut up," Ichigo responded, once again attempting to sit up, only to fall back down with a gasp.

"I really wouldn't be trying that if I was you," Kisuke said calmly. "Taking a poink blank hakudo at your level must have really messed you up."

"Hakudo?," asked Ichigo. "You mean that red light?,"

"Yes, its part of Kido, one of the soul reapers most potent weapons," Kisuke responded, ducking a surprise attack from Hiyori, who cried out that he was a bastard. "I asked Jinta to perform a weak variation against you, but I see you underestimated the full-fledged version."

"I'll take over from here Kisuke," Tessai said, approaching the pair.

"You cured the Quincy boy?," Kisuke asked, once again moving out of the way of a flying sandal.

"Yes, however it was very difficult," Tessai said, taking a seat beside Ichigo. "I really had to dig for the correct Kido, even with my healing he should be out for a while yet." The man with the striped bucket hat nodded and shunpo'd away, Hiyori in fast pursuit. The large man placed his hands over Ichigo, who watched in surprise as they began to glow. "Even with a point blank blow, to not lose consciousness your body must be incredibly resilient."

Ichigo did not respond at the mans words, for he was to engrossed in what he was doing. **That's incredible, my wounds are healing….he's not even touching me! **The burns on Ichigos body were quickly evaporating, leaving healthy skin in its wake, even his gaping wounds from the soul reapers slashes were seemingly mending themselves. **How is he doing that?**

"Does this interest you Ichigo?," Tessai asked, seeming the wonder in the boys eyes. "If you wish to learn I could teach you."

While Tessai was healing Ichigo, Hiyori had finally caught up with her former captain. "Damnit Kisuke, stay still!" The former captain sighed and stopped in his tracks, causing the speeding girl to run smack into his back, bouncing off of it, and landing flat on her back. "Not that still ya moron!"

"Why are you so agitated Hiyori?," Kisuke asked, turning to face his downed former Lieutenant. "Ever since I called you back, you've been trying to kill me."

"You interfered with my fight!," she cried angrily, lifting herself to her feet.

"I couldn't have you kill the man," Kisuke said matter of factly.

"And why not!," Hiyori shouted in response.

"You know very well why it wouldn't," Kisuke answered. "We needed a witness to return to Soul Society, and he was the last one alive."

"But he was one of those fatass Omaeda's!," said Hiyori. "I've always wanted to knock them down a peg."

"Hiyori, I promise you'll get your chance," Kisuke said, his grin returning to his face.

"I better," she said, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets and marching away, still fuming at losing her opportunity to rid the world of one Omeada.

**I forgot how much she hates those people** urahara thought, watching her stomp away. **She would always play pranks on them since before I was there…something she must have gotten from Hikifune..** He turned back to where Ichigo was laying to now see him standing beside Tessai, concentrating his reaitsu. **I thought you would Ichigo…** he thought, watching the boys pathetic first attempts at kido. **Good thing too…..your going to need it**

In an opposite corner, Tatsuki was resting in Urahara's insta-chair. Yoruichi and Soifon sat nearby, talking about the recent events. "I believe you handled yourself well girl," Yoruichi said to the still exhausted Tatsuki."

"Of course she did," Soifon said in response. "You are the one who trained her after all, Lady Yoruichi."

Yoruichi chuckled and turned back to her former servant with a smile. "Please, you don't have to call me that Soifon, I'm just Yoruichi."

"Yes, lady..I mean Yoruichi," Soifon obviously struggled to say.

"Tatsuki , I told you not to use that attack so early," Yoruichi said, scolding the girl. "It left you virtually helpless, even against such a weak opponent."

"It worked though," Tatsuki responded with a grin. "Took out ol' whatsisface easily enough."

"Perhaps," her mentor responded. "However, as punishment, I want you to wear these," She said, holding up what seemed to be wrist and ankle bracers.

"What the hell are they?," Tatsuki asked, looking over the strange things.

"They're waited," Yoruichi said, clamping them onto Tatsuki's wrists and ankles. "Over 100 pounds each I should say."

"One-hundred pounds!," Tatsuki asked, attempting to stand with the weights, finding it incredibly difficult. "How am I supposed to move!"

"By channeling your power through your body evenly, you have been taught to augment your strength exponentially, correct?," Yoruichi asked the struggling girl, who nodded in response. "Well, I want you to do so every minute of every day until weight such as this seems normal to you."

"Can this wait?," Tatsuki asked hopefully. "I'm bone tired."

"No complaints!," Soifon roared, jabbing a finger into the face of the struggling Tatsuki. "See these," She showed the girl her own wristbands. "These weigh slightly over one ton here in the world of the living!"

Tatsuki sighed and attempted to begin the walk back home. **That ladder….that ladder's gonna be fun..**

**_A.N._**

**_Btw, im looking for a beta reader, any1 want to volunteer?_**


	15. Lieutenants in Karakura

As the sun slowly rose in the skies of the Sereitei, The Captain-Commander had called for a meeting. The nominated Lieutenants and their respective captains had all been called to the halls of the first division for a final briefing on the upcoming mission.

"As you are now aware of your upcoming mission, I must inform you of the more vital details of the operation," Yamamoto said to the gathered Lieutenants, who were all gathered in a circle before him. "But before that, are there any among you who find themselves unable to partake in this assignment?," None of the Lieutenants spoke out, although one crimson-haired man was finding it incredibly difficult to stay quiet. "Very well then," The elderly man pressed a button on his chair, causing an audible click. A hole opened up in the ceiling, allowing a large screen to drop down. "Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the twelfth division can fill you in on the more specific details."

Said captain of the department of Research and Development appeared on the screen moments later, his face causing the shortest of the lieutenants to cringe. "Your main target, as you should know is a surviving member of the Shiba Clan."

The seemingly endless grin of Gin Ichimaru faltered at the statement, **Surviving of the Shibas…but how…**

"Is something the matter Lieutenant Ichimaru?," Captain Kurotsuchi asked the frowning man.

"No, nothing at all," Gin replied, quickly recovering his foxish grin. **That must be what captain Aizen was talking about…**

"Then, I shall continue with the explanation," said Mayuri, slightly irritated. The Camera zoomed out from the captains face to show a chart with the bars of varying heights. "These are the recorded levels of spiritual pressure sensed during the last mission into Karakura." He extended a pointer and jabbed it at the first of the bars, which was also the lowest. "This one is quite strange because it feels almost human, however I hypothesize it could be a recently turned hollow, albeit a powerful one, so be on your guard." "This second one however is erratic," Mayuri said, pointing to another bar, that fluctuated up and down. "With this one, it seems as if the subject does not use reaitsu as you or I would, but uses it as a method of attack. This being the case, I assume it can either be a rouge shinigami who is primarily a kido user, or perhaps a Quincy.."

"A Quincy?," Captain Kuchiki asked from the back of the room. "That's preposterous Mayuri."

"I wouldn't count out the possibility Captain Kuchiki," Mayuri responded with a grin. "Unless i'm mistaken, there was a former noble family who was until now considered extinct." Byakuya grumbled to himself before nodding for Mayuri to continue. "Yes, now hopefully without further interruptions.." Mayuri began, slightly smug after winning the argument. "As we look at the third reading, we can see a very strong level of spiritual pressure from our intended target the Shiba,"

"How are you sure of that being the target?," asked Lieutenant Hitsugaya.

"NO FURTHUR INTERUPPTIONS!," Mayuri shouted at the inquisitive Lieutenant. "I WILL FINISH MY EXPLANTAION, THEN ANSWER QUESTIONS. NOT BEFORE!" The disgruntled Captain took a second or two to calm down before continuing, pointing back to the Shiba's reading. "This level minorly fluctuates, showing little training in sustaining it. This can be a good sign, as it is a noticeable trait of a beginner, however this can also be a very troubling fact." He saw Hitsugaya mouth open, but shot it down with a death glare. "This is a troubling fact because he is currently almost at Lieutenant level; if the boy is given formal training and experience, he could become quite powerful indeed."

**Damn those genes..** Byakuya Kuchuki thought from the back. **They were all so abnormally strong…we must catch this one early**

"Captain Kurotsuchi if I may," Captain Ukitake asked. "Do you have any measure on how long his powers have been active?"

The seething Research Captain snapped his pointer in two before answering calmly, his eyebrows twitching. "Ten days Captain Ukitake…..ten days….now if you would please silence yourself…"

"TEN DAYS?!," Captain Hirako shouted, breaking from his daze. "He went up in power that fast?" "Geez it took me fifty years to graduate from the Academy!"

"That's because you're a lazy bum Captain Hirako," Tosen said from the line of Lieutenants.

"Ahhh, what do you know Kaname! Why I have half a mind to.."

"SILENCE BOTH OF YOU!," the captain commander shouted. "NEXT ONE OF YOU TO SPEAK WILL SHARE THE SHIBA BOYS FATE!" The statement ceased all chatter within the meeting hall. "Captain Mayuri, if you will please continue."

"Thank You Captain Commander," Mayuri replied with a bow. "You can now see why this is such an urgent matter to the soul society; his highly accelerated growth rate makes him a great threat to us now and in the future." "However, the boy will not be your primary threat during this mission." The clown-faced Captain pointed with his overly long finger nails towards the final reading. "As you can see, this reading is almost double that of the Shiba boy, outclassing a normal lieutenant by a fair margin. "

This will be where someone like you comes in handy Gin." Captain Aizen said, stealthily addressing his Lieutenant. "You were at the normal Lieutenant level decades ago, so if that one makes an appearance, I want you to deal with it." Gin's grin widened as he nodded his response.

"However, through observation into these readings I have come across an interesting bit of information," Mayuri continued. "It seems that there are three other energy readings in the area similar to that of the Shiba boy and through further observation, I have come to believe that they are too of the Shiba Clan, bringing the number to four."

Every Soul Reapers eyes widened at the statement, barring Gin, whose grin simply faltered a bit. This was all news to non-twelfth division soul reapers, including the Captain-Commander himself. "Is this true Captain Kurotsuchi?," he asked, surprised.

"Yes, Captain Commander," Mayuri said, speaking as politely as possible. "The results of my study are solid,"

"Then your mission has just changed Lieutenants," Yamamoto said addressing the Lieutenants before him. "You shall now be capturing all four Shibas in Karakura, I will have no excuses!"

"Captain Kurotsuchi, would another Lieutenant be necessary for the added objectives?," Captain Aizen asked.

"Thank you for actually waiting, but I do not believe so," Mayuri replied. "The other three readings are miniscule at best."

"That is all Lieutenants," The Captain Commander said to the group before him. "You shall depart through the senkaimon shortly."

"Unacceptable!," Tessai shouted at Ichigos latest failed attempt. The boy had attempted a Hado #4 but had only managed to have his spell blow up in his face. "Now you will try it again!"

Ichigo mumbled to himself and stood up, wiping the falling dirt off himself. "Hey Tessai, why is this so much harder than just using my reaitsu?"

"For some it is, for others it is like breathing in on a fresh autumn day," said the former Kido captain. He stood and approached Ichigo. "Your problem is that you want to put too much into your attacks." The large man extended his hand. "Byakurai_**" **_His hand glowed before emitting a large blue lightning bolt, which smashed into a nearby boulder, completely disintegrating it. "Truly, it doesn't take much reaitsu for the lower level spells to work Ichigo, however when you fill them with massive amounts of it, they become increasingly difficult to control."

Ichigo nodded and once again extended his hand. "Byakurai," He could feel a change in how his reaitsu felt, it seemed to flow instead of charge forward. **Im doing it! **He thought, feeling his reaitsu pulse forward. He was disappointed however with the result, instead of a massive explosion, a few tiny sparks emanated from his hand, doing little more than slightly tickling the rocks.

"WEAK!," Tessai shouted at his student. "Although it was a step in the right direction…"

"Hey, dumbass!," the pair turned to see Hiyori standing at the base of the ladder, Ichigo's forgotten body slung over her shoulder. "Now I knew you were stupid, but COME ON!" "Leaving your own body just lying around on the surface!"

"Wow….that was pretty stupid," Urahara said from his easy chair. "You know Ichigo, You might want to take better care of your belongings."

**Gimmee a break… **Ichigo thought, once again preparing himself to attempt the kido spell. "Byakurai." This time he felt the same flow as the last time, but for good measure threw in a tad more reaitsu. The result was exactly what he was looking for, a cobalt ray of lightning shot from his hand, colliding with an unwary boulder, making it explode into pieces.

"Ah, very good Ichigo," Tessai said, inspecting the rock. "Now do it One Hundred times."

"One Hundred!?," Ichigo said disbelievingly. "You're kidding me right?"

"Practice makes Perfect Ichigo," said Tessai. "You should be glad, it takes some people weeks to accomplish a proficient Hado #3."

It had been almost twenty-four hours since the soul reapers had invaded karakura Town. Tatsuki had gone home for what she considered some much disserved rest. (After finding the ladder to indeed be the most fun she had had in ages) Uryu had recently awoken from his unconscious state, and was currently cleaning his guns, which Urahara had unsurprisingly had a great interest in. "So, they use your own reaitsu as a projectile?" the shopkeeper asked the Quincy.

"That's correct," Uryu answered, holding up a small cylindrical object. "this device receives incoming reaitsu and condenses it into a solid form, allowing it to be propelled at the target."

"What accelerates the fired reaitsu?," urahara asked curiously. "I don't recognize any device that could do so.."

"My own reaitsu does that as well," Uryu explained, forcing some of his reaitsu into the small cylinder, which began to glow blue. It emitted a small, bullet shaped bunch of the Quincy's blue reaitsu. "I can expel it with a small, yet concentrated burst of Spiritual Pressure." He demonstrated the process, sending the bullet flying across the area before crashing into the wall."

"Hmm.. interesting," said Kisuke. "However, I see a flaw in the design."

"What!?," Uryu answered, shocked at the shopkeepers statement. **How dare he question my mechanical prowess! My design is perfect! **The offended Quincy calmed himself down and readjusted his glasses. "Really, well than what is the problem?"

"It's really quite simple," stated Kisuke. He reached down and grabbed the guns cylinder as well as the small cylindrical object that Uryu used for his demonstration. "You just can't accelerate the bullet enough with you current level of reaitsu."

**Now I'm weak?! **Uryu thought angrily, his hands clutching into fists. "And how would you recommend I fix that problem?"

"Like this," Kisuke said, pulling out a welder from seemingly nowhere, instantly going to work on the small device.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?," Uryu shouted in panic, earning him strange glances from the others. "IT TOOK AGES FOR ME TO GET THE DIMENSIONS JUST RIGHT! LEAVE MY MACHINE ALONE!"

"Finished," Kisuke said, handing Uryu the modified parts to his Seele Gewehr.

"Wha…what did you do," Uryu asked worriedly, searching for damages to his beloved pistol.

"It was easy enough to modify," Kisuke answered, pointing out the changes. "I had to rifle the barrel, allowing for a greater velocity and accuracy, as well as slightly modifying that little device that solidifies you reaitsu. Basically, it will now take slightly more of you Reaitsu to make a something similar to a blasting cap. Anything being propelled by an explosion will fly faster, don't you agree?"

"How…how did you..," The stunned Uryu asked, in awe of the shopkeepers mechanical prowess.

"I used to know a gun nut," Kisuke said. "He would always talk about what he did to modify them, lucky for you I listened."

"Thank..thank you," Uryu answered. **I can't wait to try this thing out…** He thought, frantically putting the pieces together. As he was finishing up, he noticed that Kisuke, who had until now been walking casually strolling over to Ichigo, had stopped in his tracks. "Something wrong, Urahara?"

"URYU, ICHIGO, TOPSIDE NOW!," he shouted, before turning back to the Quincy with a serious look on his face. "Soul Reapers are on the way."

"What's up, Urahara?," Ichigo asked, facing Kisuke.

"Soifon, I want for you to go get Tatsuki!," Yoruichi asked her former student, who instantly shunpo'd away with a "yes, lady Yoruichi"

"Kisuke senses something Ichigo," Tessai said to his confused student. "You and your Quincy friend should get moving." Ichigo needed no further explanations. He swung his zanpakuto across his back and shunpo'd up the stairs, followed closely by Uryu.

"So, same as last time Kisuke?," Hiyori asked her former captain.

"No, Lieutenants," Kisuke answered, trying to feel their reaitsu. "Four of them by the feel of it." He felt a surge of spiritual pressure to his left, and stuck his hand instinctively stopping his impulsive former Lieutenant.

"Let me go you bastard," Hiyori said, fighting Kisuke's grip. "I have to go out there!"

"You don't have to fight every soul reaper who comes through here Hiyori," Kisuke said calmly, trying to restrain the savage girl.

"Do you honestly think they have a chance against four Lieutenants Kisuke?!" She angrily asked Kisuke. The man was so stunned at her words that his grip faltered, allowing her to Shunpo out of the training grounds, to the surface. **Did I just hear……concern in her voice????**

* * *

"So, this is Karakura , eh," a silver haired Gin Ichimaru stated as he strode into the skies above Karakura.

"There are two shapes moving this way.," tousen stated, his hearing heightened by his inanbility to see.

"Prepare yourselves," Hitsugaya said, drawing his zanpakuto and facing the direction of the attackers.

Ichigo and Uryu appeared almost simultaneously before the quarter of Lieutenants, both reaching for the weapons. "What do you want?" Ichigo asked angrily, gripping the hilt of zangetsu.

**That must be him.. **thought Lieutenant Abarai **He looks just like Kaien..**

**So they did survive… **Gin thought to himself upon seeing Ichigo.

"We are here for you Shiba," Kaname Tosen said as he gripped his zanpakuto.

"Just like the other ones, huh," Uryu said to the dark skinned Lieutenant. "Well, you're aware of what happened to the ones before correct?"

"Don't compare us to those in the second division," Hitsugaya said, unsheathing his zanpakuto. "Unlike them, we are combat specialists."

"Really?," Ichigo asked, unsheathing zangetsu, its black blade reflecting the moonlight. "I think I can manage."

Suddenly, Ichigo felt a surge of heat to his left and turned to see Tatsuki standing by his side, her fists already ignited. "Sorry I'm late, I was sleeping pretty deeply." She said, already sizing up her opponents.

A few seconds later, to the trios surprise, Hiyori appeared as well. "Hiyori, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, confused at her appearance.

"Please, you guys couldn't handle Lieutenants by yourselves," she said, drawing her zanpakuto and turning towards Ichigo. "Besides, I can't let you guys have all the fun."

**That's got to be her.. target acquired **Gin thought, feeling the small girls spiritual pressure. In a flash, we unsheathed his zanpakuto, and stretched out the wakizahi before him. "Shoot to Kill, Shinsou," the short swords blade began to glow before instantly lengthening a incredible speed, to fast for the group to register, except Hiyori.

She managed to barely dodge the shot intended for her skull, although the rapidly extending did not leave her unscathed. She glanced at the glowing blade in surprise before quickly moving out of the way of the follow up downward swing. She felt something strange touching her shoulder and glanced down, only to see her own hair. That guys attack had cut the hair bands keeping her hair in its signature pigtails. Her blond hair now fell slightly longer than shoulder length, a way in which it hadn't been for over a century. **Oh you're good.. **she thought, glancing at the grinning face of Gin ichimaru. **This should be fun! **"Chop Cleanly Kubikiri Orochi!," she shouted, causing her zanpakuto to glow and change shape into the serrated cleaver. She swung down the blade down forcefully, the impact of which, although blocked by Shinsou, sent Ichimaru crashing into the buildings below. He removed himself from the rubble, regarding his opponenet with his trademark grin. She smirked and shunpo'd after the downed soul reaper, eager to have a worthy opponent. She shunpo'd to her target, their blades sparking at the clash of metal.

"Is it me, or are you a familier face?," Gin asked, the combatants breaking apart. He raised his zanpakto and swung forcefully, but to his surprise his blade was caught between the serrated teeth of the girls zanpakto. She capitalized, capturing the blade and sending the Lieutenant with a spinning kick.

"I think i'd remember a fox-faced bastard like you," Hiyori said, smirking at the Lieutenant, who was now buried in the rubble of a nearby building. Her eyes shot open when she felt the Lieutenant shunpo behind her.

"Shoot to Kill, Shinsou," he muttered, swinging his hyper-entending zanpakto in a wide arc, attempting to bifurcate the girl in pink.

**Damn..** Hiyori thought, scrambling for a possible solution in the mere milliseconds she had. "Chop cleanly!," she said, swinging her zanpakto down hard to her left.

As the long blade of light approached where she stood, something happened that made Gin's grin falter, his blade almost halved in length. He looked down to see the severed half shrinking as it fell to the earth below. **What?! **He looked towards the girl to see her standing with a smirk on her face, one of her teeth poiting out over her bottom lip, a short, slash like mark of light by her left side.

"Shocked?," she asked mockingly. "When I said Chop Cleanly I meant it, that beside me is a rip in space itself, anything that touches it is instantly severed as the atoms rip apart, even zanpaktos."

"Hey little boy, you shouldn't be out here," Uryu said to the shortest of the soul reapers.

"Little!...what did you just say!," Hitsugaya asked angrily, already tightening his grip on his zanpakuto.

"I'm just saying it could be dangerous here," Uryu responded innocently. "A place like this really isn't safe for kids."

"You, Bastard!," Hitsugaya roard, drawing his zanpakuto and lunging at Uryu. He dodged the blade and used Hirenkyaku to move further away, pursued by the enraged soul reaper.

"Your breathing quickly girl," Tosen said, facing Tatsuki. "You are either very nervous, or very excited, so which is it?"

**I don't know how long I can hold him off with these things on me..**Tatsuki thought, glancing at the weighted bands. **Its all I can do to move at normal speed..i'm going to have to end this quickly..** She raised her fists and faced the blind soul reaper. "Draw your sword!"

"Are you going to stand between me and the completion of my mission, girl?," asked Tosen

"If that mission is Ichigo, than I'm afraid so," Tatsuki said, dropping into a fighting stance.

"Guess that leaves you and me," Ichigo said, pointing his blade at Lieutenant Abarai. He rushed at the crimson haired captain and swung with his zanpakuto. The Lieutenant never raised hi blade, but instead Shunpo'd away. **What the hell is he doing.. **Ichigo thought before taking off after him.

Tosen sighed before drawing his zanpakuto. "Then it cannot be helped," The blind soul reapers instantly disappeared from sight, only to reappear behind Tatsuki, who was able to catch the blade between her hands. Feeling the resistance, Tosen pulled back his blade. "You are strong..and fast..to fast for a human.."

_**A/N: The Lieutenants finally arrive in Karakura and the groups dives into the battle headfirst. I think I chose who should fight who pretty well, but tell me if you guys thought differently. Ok, the next chapter shall be the battle for The Shibas, will they remain free, or become Soul Societies captives, only time will tell.**_


	16. Overwhelming Power

_**Well, finally I'm done with my exams. Sorry for the long delay, but I had an extremely hectic last month of school. Hopefully I'll be able to be slightly more regular with the updates now that summer is here, but hey who knows, something might come up. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.**_

_A scream echoed through the forest, as the predator chased its prey. "It will do you no good to run little one!," A massive hollow, the shape of a titanic serpent charged through the brush, its jaws bristling with fangs. It's mouth broke into a grin as it surveyed its prey, the small boy before it ran at speeds which would be impossible if his life were not at stake. The Hollow blocked the boys path with its serpentine tail. "Your fear is intoxicating…..I may just draw this out.." The hollow hissed, wrapping his tail around the boys quivering form._

_"HELP!," he managed to shout before finding himself unable to breath. He gripped the hollows tail, trying to rip himself free, but finding it impossible. The hollow laughed at his futile attempts, tightening its hold on the struggling boy. __**Got to get out….got to get..got to…Rukia..**__ He blacked out from lack of oxygen seconds later._

_He felt himself being shaken, __**What..is this… **__Fe felt strong hands grab his shoulders and shake him violently. He lashed out blindly, trying to fight off the hollow, when his fist was caught by very…normal feeling hands._

_"Well, seems he's alright," a voice called out in the darkness._

_"Very Good Lieutenant Shiba," another, elder voice said. "If you hadn't gotten there when you did, he would have certainly perished."_

Renji shook his head as the memories surfaced, easily dodging another of Ichigos' attacks. **Why…why did it have to be him.. **He evaded another of the boys wild swings, using shunpo to once again further the distance between them.

Ichigo jetted after him, quickly closing the distance and lashing out with his released zanpakuto. Renji once again evaded with ease, moving further away across the night sky. This time however, Ichigo did not follow. "So," he began, shouldering his massive cleaver. "Why won't you fight me?"

Renji, caught off guard, took a few seconds to respond. **Damn it…. He caught on too quickly….I had hoped I could have gotten him away from the others.. **He drew a serious expression to his face, pointing towards Ichigo. "It's a strategy!...," an attempt at a smirk forming on his face.

"Cut the bullshit," Ichigo replied. "Anyone could tell your avoiding me more than trying to fight….. when I slow my attacks down you do as well, making sure you barely avoid the swings ." He brought Zangetsu down and pointed it at the crimson haired soul reaper. "So…why aren't you trying?"

**He's sharp..I didn't think he'd notice that.. **Renji reached down and pulled his zanpakuto from its crimson sheath. **Seems like I'll have to be a little more convincing.. **He shunpo'd ahead and swung zabimaru in a horizontal arc, colliding with zangetsu, sending Ichigo sliding backwards with the force of impact. "So, happy?"

"I wondered how fast you really were," Ichigo said, readying himself. "But that's not it is it?" He shunpo'd forward swinging Zangetsu down at full speed, his blade colliding with Renji's, the two beginning to fight for dominance. "If your not going to fight like you mean it….." he twisted his blade out of the power struggle, moving to Renji's temporarily exposed side. "I'll make you.." Ichigo raised his hand, aiming to the Lieutenant's face. "Hado number three, Kamisorakaze"

Renji's eyes widened as a pale light appeared on Ichigos outstretched hand. **Kido? **He quickly reacted, twisting out of the way as the light took the shape of multiple crescent shaped blades of air, seeking to decapitate him. As the rocketed towards him, the Lieutenant sliced through each with his blade, destroying the concentrated Reaitsu. How the hell did he learn that?

"So that's your true speed," Ichigo said, a grin plastered on his face. On the inside however, things were much different. **Damn….i've never seen someone move like that… **he readied Zangetsu, holding it before him in a defensive stance. **I'll have to be careful. **The two stared each other down in the following seconds, neither eager to make the first move. **It's like he doesn't even want to fight.. **Ichigo gripped Zangetsu tightly and shunpo'd forward once again, his blade colliding with Ranji's. Ichigo pushed forward mightily, throwing the red-headed soul reaper off balance. Seeing this, the boy pulled back his zanpakuto and swung horizontally, only to have his target shunpo away once more. "What the hell are you trying to do?," Ichigo shouted at the soul reaper, who once again put distance between them.

"I'll show ya little!," said lieutenant Hitsugaya, sweeping his zanpakuto down hard, attempting to cut Uryu in two.

"This place is dangerous kid," Uryu said calmly, moving out of the way of the soul reapers swing. "You should really get out of here while you can," **Is he really a soul reaper? **Thought Uryu, glancing at the young lieutenant. **He can't be… his reaitsu isn't anything like theirs…it's strange..**

"AHH!," Hitsugaya shouted in anger, rushing the Quincy. He swung for Uryu's head, missed, than followed up with a thrust towards the Quincies mid-section, which he seemed to easily dodge.

"Look, I'm only going to say this one more time," said Uryu, pulling Seele Schneider from his belt. He turned back in the direction they had come from, towards the other soul reapers. "Get out of here kid."

**That bastard! **Hitsugaya thought in fury. **He isn't taking me seriously….why I should! **_Calm Yourself Hitsugaya! _Hitsugaya's fury slightly ebbed, remembering the voice which spoke. **Hyorinmaru? **_Hitsugaya, you must remember to keep yourself calm. _The voice of the zanpakuto said to the snow-haired Lieutenant. _Remember the words of thy Captain, do not let your petty emotions control you.. _The young soul reapers eyes widened at the spirits words, remembering just why the words had been brought up. _As a child, your control of yourself was non-existent…..you power was uncontrolled, bringing hail and sleet and snow to the Sereitei yet you could not defend yourself from the weakest of hollows… your power has been great since a young age, but without control you may as well be making snow cones… _Hitsugaya gritted his teeth at the spirits snide remark but kept his tounge, knowing his words to be true. Without true control of himself, he was next to helpless. He closed his teal eyes and began to breath deeply as Captain Kuchiki had instructed him. The captain had made it a top priority for him to gain control of himself, seeing the great potential in the boy. As he became calm once more, Hitsugaya began to feel his reaitsu re-aligning itself, organizing itself from the jumbled mess it had been moments before. **Once again you were right.. **he thought, thinking of his Zanpakuto's spirit. "Reign over the frosted heavens…Hyorinmaru!"

Uryu's entire body tensed at the sudden explosion of spiritual pressure. He quickly turned around, attempting to find its source, his eyes widening as he saw its source. **So, he was one of them. **Hitsugaya now glew with a pale blue light, his eyes glowing the same hue. His blade had slightly lengthend, but the most obvious addition was the crescent blade dangling by a chain from its hilt. What drew Uryu's attention the most though, was not his opponent, but the weather. Where there had once been a clear summer night, there were clouds blocking all view to the stars, and before long to the Quincy's amazement snow began to fall.

"I am Toushiro Hitsugaya, Lieutenant of the 6th division of the Thirteen court guard squads," The snow-haired soul reaper raised his blade above his head before ripping it down in an instant. Reaitsu poured out of the blade as it descended, racing at the stunned Quincy in the form of a massive blue dragon of water and ice.

Uryu gritted his teeth, using hyorinkyaku to evade the attack, but as he landed, he saw that another was on its way. **Fast.. **He evaded the second of the massive ice dragons and using Hyorinkyaku again, raced towards the soul reaper, activating his Seele Schneider. Upon reaching his target, he pulled his blade over his head and swung down hard, only to watch his blade shatter before his very eyes. **What? **He stared dumbfounded at what remained of his Seele Schneider, confusion welling up inside.

"You don't think that weak little blade would have any effect do you?," said Lieutenant Hitsugaya, brushing shards of the broken blade from his unscathed shoulder. He smirked and quickly swung his zanpakuto at Uryu's exposed frame. The Quincy was able to use hyorinkyaku, but was unable to prevent the blade from ripping a large gash across his chest. "You're lucky, that should have killed you."

**Damn.. **Uryu thought, clutching his wounded chest. **I can't get that close to him again…he's just too fast.. **He drew Seele Gewehr quickly, thrusting it towards the young lieutenant.

"That your projectile weapon?," Hitsugaya said calmly. "Our head scientist got measurements on it, don't bother."

Uryu smirked slightly at the Lieutenants words, remembering the modifications done by Urahara. He pulled the trigger and fired, the force kicking his arm back forcefully. A jet of blue flashed from the muzzle, colliding head on with a very surprised soul reaper. Uryu's eyes widened at the impact, smoke masking his target. **What the hell did that man do? **He thought, glancing down at Seele Gewehr. **That recoil was at least five times as hard as before.. **

"You bastard.."

Uryu's eyes quickly moved back to the smoke cloud, seeing a large sickle on a chain rocketing towards him. **Shit.. **The chain coiled tightly around his right shoulder, its blade burying itself deep in his flesh. To his shock, as the blade entered, ice formed in the wound, rapidly moving down past his elbow. His arm, including Seele Gewehr, was frozen solid.

"I don't know how that things power was amplified to that extent," Hitsugaya said as the smoke surrounding him cleared. He stood with the chain wrapped tightly around his left hand, while his dominant hand was clutching a fresh wound in the young lieutenant's stomach. "but, you won't use it again.."

"You are quite the interesting person," Ichimaru said, dodging another powerful slash from Hiyori.

"Well, glad to hear I'm not dull," she responded, knocking him back with an upwards slash. "Wouldn't want to bore ya.." She shunpo'd forward again, crashing into the still smirking Gin.

"Ya know," said Gin. "You should really chill out." He raised a hand from his zanpakuto, grabbing Hiyori's arm. "Bakudo 9, Geki." Hiyori hissed in surprise as the red light of the kido spell paralyzed her body. "That's better," Gin lowered his zanpakuto and cocked his head to the side. "I have some questions for you, so I guess I'll let you talk."

"Fuck you," Hiyori responded, struggling against the restraining kido.

"Now that's not polite," Gin replied. "All I wanted to know was how you, the former lieutenant of the twelth division were running around on earth," The girls face briefly showed surprise, before falling back into its scowl. "..and with humans no less."

"What of it?," asked Hiyori angrily, fang bared.

"It's curious," Gin said, reaching out, touching the girls chin. "The possibilities are intriguing." When an agitated Hiyori attempted to bite his finger off, he drew his hand back, the grin only widening. He turned away, his back facing her. "makes me wonder who else might .." A ripping sound behind him caused him to stop mid-sentence, he quickly turned to see Hiyori's zanpakuto inches from his head. "Enkosen," A barrier of reaitsu formed between the two, blocking the zanpakuto.

Hiyori gritted her teeth at the block and poured reaitsu into her blade. The edges once more began to vibrate like a chainsaw, easily slicing through the hastily made kido shield. The now prepared Gin ducked the attack and concentrated reaitsu into his fist before thrusting it into Hiyori's gut, sending her flying back.

"My, my," Gin said, shaking his smoking hand. "You are full of surprises," He pointed his zanpakuto at the recovering girl. "That ability of yours is incredible, and your speed and strength are easily lieutenant level, but your technique leaves much to be desired." His zanpakuto rapidly extended once more, rapidly accelerating towards the blond.

She lept up up at the last second, landing on a blunt side of the blade. **Gotcha.. **She sped down its length towards its surprised owner, raising her jagged zanpakuto above her head.

"Tzusuri Raiden," Gin muttered, the phrase sending electricity speeding down the length of his extended zanpakuto.

**Shit.. **Hiyori thought, leaping from the blade to avoid being electrocuted. Gin smirked and pulled his extended blade upwards in pursuit. **Again.. **thought Hiyori, swinging down her jagged zanpakuto, once again slicing Gin's in half. She shunpo'd forward, reappearing behind the fox faced lieutenant, bringing around her zanpakuto. Seemingly expectecting this, Gin turned rapidly, blocking the swing with his diminutive wakizashi. The eternally grinning lieutenant moved his zanpakuto in a flurry, slashing and stabbing at incredible speed, appearing as if using four blades at once.

Hiyori was able to parry the rapid strikes, albeit not without difficulty. Thinking quickly, she activated her zanpakuto's ability once more, ripping a hole in space between her and the attacking lieutenant. Shunpoing above her enemy, she swung down her zanpakuto, attempting to divide the lieutenant in two. When he blocked the powerful swing, Ichimaru was propelled downwards with its force. **Perfect. **Hiyori thought, using her superior speed to shunpo below him. **Take this you shit.. **She swung the flat side of her zanpakuto at the falling lieutenant, hitting with an audible bash and sending him flying through a nearby building. "Heh, I'd call that a homerun.." She slung her zanpakuto over her shoulder and strode up to the pile of rubble with toothy grin. "Don't get cocky, you'll just die faster." No response came from the rubble pile, not even a pebble fell. "I know your alive fox-face," said Hiyori. "Your reaitsu is just fine," She lifted up her zanpakuto and pointed it at the destroyed remnants of what was once a building. "Get your ass up, I'm getting bored sitting."

"You're sharp," a large piece of concrete was pushed out of the way as Ichimaru stood, grin still beaming. "Ya know, I think I've finally figured it out."

Hiyori raised an eyebrow. "What the hell does that mean?, You figured what out?"

"Back in the Soul Society you were a violent one Sarugaki," Gin said, fishing his zanpakuto out of the rubble. "Just now I was next to helpless, yet you refrained from killing me, choosing instead to smash with the flat side of your blade."

"What of it," she responded. "You're the first person I've fought in a while that actually made me try," She pointed her zanpakuto at the now re-armed lieutenant. "Now shut up so we can continue."

"The sarugaki I knew of wouldn't have done that," Gin responded. "You're being told not to kill us soul reapers,"

The girl in the jogging suit gritted her teeth. **Shit.. **She dashed forward swinging her zanpakuto, only to have Ichimaru shunpo away, reappearing fifty feet away.

"So, Urahara's here is he?," Gin asked, his grin growing. "How did he survive the execu…." He moved rapidly again, evading more of Hiyori's frenzied swings. **Now she wants to kill me….must've been right. **He pointed his blade at Hiyori. "Shoot to kill, shinsou," it extended once more, pushing back the frantic girl. "Now that I see what's really going on…" The area around him began to glow, winds picking up to gale force in the immediate area. "I'm gonna make a change."

"Dammit..," Hiyori mumbled, using her large zanpakuto to shield herself from flying debris. **They would send one who..**

Gin's eyes opened, revealing their blood red tint. "Bankai."

"Girl, why do you stand before me?," Tosen asked the girl before him.

"Ichigo is my friend," Tatsuki responded. "I won't let you take him away."

"I do not wish to harm you or your friends girl," said Tosen. "Violence appalls me, in bringing him in I will be following the path of least bloodshed."

"What kind of bullshit is that!," Tatsuki shouted. "Executing him is the least bloodshed?"

"There is so much you do not understand," Tosen replied. "If he is allowed to properly mature.."

"I know Ichigo, you don't!," Tatsuki replied angrily. He wouldn't just kill people for the sake of it, and don't blame it on his genes, because neither would his father!"

**Father? **Tosen thought. **Things are worse than I feared… **He drew his zanpakuto. "I will tell you once more, stand aside."

"No,"

"Very well," Tosen dashed forward, swinging his zanpakuto. **Hopefully I can avoid killing her.. **Tatsuki blocked the sword with the metal weights on her left wrist, lashing out with a reaitsu charged kick into the blind lieutenant's midsection, forcing him back. **Strong reaitsu…and those bands… **

Tatsuki shunpo'd forwards, igniting her right fist and swung for the lieutenants head. "Take this!,"

**Fire? **thought Kaname. He felt the heat from the flames and ducked her punch, slashing back in retaliation. She dodged the blade and aimed a burning kick at the lieutenants head, only to have him easily avoid it once again.

Tatsuki dropped back, avoiding a another swing of tosen's zanpakuto. She dropped down into a crouch, focusing her energy into her dominant forearm. The flames crept up to her elbow and began to glow with an intense light. "DoragonKiba!" The fire rocketed off her arm, forming the shape of a burning dragon, teeth bared. It roared and collided with the surprised lieutenant, covering him from head to toe in fire. "That should have done it.." Tatsuki mumbled under her breath, observing the burning remains.

"Amazing,"

**What the hell! **Tatsuki thought, sharply drawing in breath. **How could he have? **

With a swing of his sword, Tosen dispelled the flames, revealing himself to be unharmed, his clothes only slightly singed. He brushed some ash from his shoulder, before turning to face the shocked girl. "How a human gained such power…"

"How are you still alive!," Tatsuki said, disbelievingly.

"You are powerful," Tosen replied. "However, I am a lieutenant of the fifth squad, my power is far beyond yours." The lieutenant sheathed his sword and turned away from the girl. "Get away from here, if I continue you will undoubtedly perish."

"I'm ..not finished yet," Tatsuki said. Attempting to reignite her fists, bringing only smoke. **What? **She cringed as pain charged through her right arm, causing her to cry out in pain, clutching her injured arm with her opposite hand.

"Don't push yourself," said Tosen, turning back to face her. "That last attack of yours completely drained your energy, you truly have nothing left."

"I won't let you take Ichigo," she responded, struggling back to her feet.

"Foolish child," Tosen's hand went down to his zanpakuto. "Cry, Suzumushi," The hilt of the sword gave off an amazingly high pitch sound, its vibrations temporarily shifting Tatsuki's view of the world into negatives of the original colors.

**What just.. **Tatsuki's mind went blank as she passed out, the pitch of the sound knocking her out instantly.

"You'll thank me someday," Tosen said to her unconscious form. He turned to face where he had felt Ichigo fighting, but stopped in his tracks. **Renji! But how… **He felt a surge of Reaitsu in that same direction directly before being hit with a massive, invisible blow, the force bringing him to the verge of consciousness. **How…did..that boy..** His mind went black seconds later, leaving two unconscious in the streets of karakura.

Ichigo shouted as once more threw zangetsu by its cloth. He had found it next to impossible to keep up with the lieutenant, do he had taken to attacking from a distance. "Get back here you coward!" he shouted, steadying a finger at the fleeing red head. "Hado #4 Byakurai!," he shouted, a jet of blue energy shot from his finger collided with the surprised lieutenant, who blocked the blast with his sword and deflected it off into the distance. **Damn it.**

**Dammit he's so persistant** Renji thought, dodging the flying zangetsu once again. **How long can he keep this up? **He deflected another kido spell and shunpo'd farther away once more. _**What are you doing Lieutenant Abari! **_Shouted a voice from within Renji's mind. **What? **_**DO YOUR JOB ABARI! **_**Captain Ukitake? **_**Remember what I said, Captain Kuchiki is looking for anything to hold against you, this is your chance! **_**But, Captain, I… **_**Abari, if you are succesfull you could finally prove yourself, at least attempt to fight your target.. **_**Captain… **no response came back, the line connecting the two worlds seemingly severed. He turned his gaze back to Ichigo and shunpo'd towards his target, his zanpakuto colliding with zangetsu with great force. **The Captains right…If I don't take this seriously.. **he pushed Ichigo back, then placed a hand over his zanpakuto. "Roar, Zabimaru!," He pulled his hand over the length of the blade as it grew spines and segmented itself, forming a retractable whip of sword segements. **…I'll never win Rukia.**

**Shit! **Thought Ichigo as he felt the powerful wave of crimson reaitsu rush by him. **Where'd that come from? **_**Ichigo, I don't think it was wise to provoke him . **_**Any ideas, Zangetsu? **Ichigo thought, reaching out to his zanpakuto's spirit. _**You have yet to realize my true potential Ichigo, every zanpakuto has a special ability or skill, finding yours might assist you against such a powerful opponent. **_**Well, what should I do then? **_**You must figure that out for yourself.. **_

"Prepare yourself!," Renji shouted, firing his whip-like zanpakuto at the surprised Ichigo, who pulled up zangetsu to block the blow, but it still pushed him back some distance. After the initial thrust, the red-headed lieutenant pulled the extended length of the zanpakuto to the side, and slashed sideways, catching Ichigo's shoulder with his blades extended edges.

Ichigo cried out in pain as the sharp edges tore into his flesh. He stumbled a step back, but righted himself and gripped his zanpakuto tightly. **Dammit Zangetsu, how am I supposed to.. **His thought process was cut off as the bladed whip came at him again, this time digging into the forearm of his opposite arm, was again bringing intense pain. Ichigo gritted his teeth and charged forward, blood flowing freely from both arms. He swung zangetsu wide, attempting to hit Renji, the lieutenant however was too quick however, easily moving out of the cleavers path. Ichigo could sense the lieutenant was now behind him, but as he turned to face him, he did not see his adversary. He felt a massive wave of reaitsu, much larger than anything he had ever felt before, dwarfing renji's sword release. The shear force rooted him to the spot rendering him unable to move. He saw what appeared to be another Lieutenant, one he had seen earlier with the others. **He's the one that fought Hiyori… **The man in question was standing there with his wakizashi, grinning fiercely at Ichigo, and too the boys horror, with his sisters slung over one shoulder. He tried to shout out, but found his body unable to do much more than stand and breath. Rage built up in his body in incredible levels, yet he found himself helpless before the reaitsu's crushing weight. Ichimaru turned away and reached walked into a nearby destroyed building, walking out with an unconscious Renji under one arm.

"Make use of your time Shiba," he heard the snow haired lieutenant said. "You can thank me in Soul Society."

_**Finally, back in the writers desk. The next chapter will cover the end of Uryu and hitsugaya's fight, as well as shed more light on Ichimaru's actions.**_


	17. Abduction

_**Sorry about the absolutely MASSIVE delay, but I just had a problem with motivation. I don't know why, but I just seemed to lost the drive. Luckily though, I've seemed to recover it here recently. Interestingly though, I've come up with a few new ideas I want to implement, and in hindsight, they seem to fit a lot better than the old ones… oh well, I guess to every cloud is a silver lining.**_

"Bankai,"

Hiyori braced herself, seconds before a massive wave of pressure drove her to one knee. **Dammit.. ** She slowly stood, fighting back against Gin's crushing spiritual pressure. She glared over at Gin's glowing blade, awaiting its transformed state. She raised an eyebrow as the light cleared, confused at what she saw. "That's your Bankai?," she said, half mocking. "It hasn't changed at all."

Gin's grin widened momentarily, obviously amused. "I am disappointed in you Sarugaki," he replied. "You should know that a appearances aren't everything." He re-positioned the wakizashi every so slightly…Hiyori barely moved out of the way in time to evade the now ridiculously fast blade, its sharp edge clipping her left arm, drawing blood. Gin then swing his extended blade at the still recovering girl, who caught it between the teeth in her swords edge. The force was to great however, and she was thrown at incredible speeds into a nearby building.

**Shit..** thought Hiyori as she slowly forced her way out of the rubble. **I wasn't expected any of the bastards to have achieved Bankai… **She now had several deep cuts and bruises over her small frame, spitting some blood as she removed the last stone.

"You should have stayed down ya know," said Gin, placing his wakizashi on his shoulder.

"Shut the hell up!," Hiyori shouted, raising her sword at the fox-faced lieutenant. "There's no way I'm gonna stay down after a weak ass attack like that!" Her eyes hardened, "Besides, I saw a weakness in it anyway.."

"I see," said Gin, once again aiming shinsou at the girl in red. "Would you be willing to bet your life on it?"

"Of course," claimed Hiyori with a toothy scowl. She saw his blade flash and she lept to the side, avoiding it once more, but as she once again touched down, sped off in the direction of Gin, closing rapidly. When he swept it low in an attempt to cut her down, she lept over it and swung her cleaver high into the air, wishing to cleave the snow haired Lieutenant in two. The man's face never changed however, continuing to stare at her through his seemingly closed eyes. Then something else can into view, the point of his blade. **What the Hell?**

"Sorry Sarugaki, you lose." As her eyes were trained on the blade, his free arm shot up and slammed into her exposed gut. She wheezed as the air was knocked out of her small body, her grip looseing on her massive blade, allowing it to fall to the ground. Gin opened his had inches from her body, "Okasen" A wide blast of yellow energy enveloped the stunned Hiyori.

He watched as her now limp form descended to the ground below, burns and scorch marks all over. "damn…" she muttered faintly as she hit the ground, consciousness leaving her.

"Sorry about that," Gin said, turning away from the now incapacitated girl. "Now where was the house?" He focused for a second before locking onto the signature once again. He rocketed across the sky, moving to quickly for any of the other fighters to see or sense. He touched down outside of a small clinic, looking up to see the sign. **Kurosaki Clinic…taken to being a medic have we Isshin? **He forced open the door with his reaitsu and strode inside, only to come face to face with the man of his thoughts.

"Gin Ichimaru," Isshin Kurosaki said, looking over the soul reaper before him. "So, they chose you for this?"

"I was nominated, truthfully," Gin said, playing with his wakizashi.

"What an insult" he said, anger crossing his features. "I know why you're here," Isshin said with a growl, taking a step forward. "I won't let you hurt them."

"Orders are orders," said Gin, his grin becoming a frown for the briefest of times. "I'm afraid I can't let you interfere." Gin raised his spiritual pressure, driving the now powerless man to the floor, rapidly losing consciousness.

"Damn…..you….Gin," Isshin struggled to say, his vision beginning to blur.

Gin knelt down, and whispered into the Kurosaki Patriarchs ear. "Hard as it is to believe, this is for the best." He stood up and headed towards the staircase. "You'll thank me later….sensei." He strode up the stairs, opening each door as he passed by it. Eventually he came to the door to Karin and Yuzu's room, but to his surprise, saw the door open just as he was reaching for the doorknob. As it opened, a shoe came out of the darkness and bounced off his head.

"We can see you, you know." Karin said through heavy breaths, having obviously been affected by Gin's earlier release of spiritual pressure.

He looked down at the seemingly unafraid dark-haired girl before him. He raised his gaze and searched until he found the other girl peering at him from under the comforters of a bed. He heard a cry of pain and looked down to see the first girl clutching her foot in pain, the results of a failed kick to the soul reapers shin. "We're about to go on a little trip," Gin said, his grin steadying. His spiritual pressure flared up once again, instantly flooring them both. "But don't be afraid" he said as their world went black. "Your brother will be joining us shortly."

He tucked them both under one arm, leaving his sword arm free. He exited the way he came, sparing a glance towards the limp form of the former soul reaper. Once outside, he leapt up to the top of the building. "There you are boy,"

Uryu could feel the ice making its way past his shoulder, slowly spreading into his torso. **Rats… I have to release my arm from that thing.. **His mind raced for a way to do so, before the proverbial lightbulb was lit. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, silver tube.

Hitsugaya rushed at the still immobile Quincy, ignoring the silver object in his hands.

"Feel the wrath of battle and accept the sacred chalice- Sacred Bite!," Uryu threw the small cylinder before him, watching with a grin as it became a large, solid cube, slamming into the surprised Hitsugaya full force, breaking his concentration enough for the chain to loosen its hold on Uryu's arm. The Quincy lept away, activating Seele Schneider to cut away the excess ice, atemping to thaw his frozen arm.

His eyes widened as another dragon of ice and water was launched. Thinking quickly, he drew his second Seele Gewehr and fired into its gaping jaws, splitting the projectile down the center. "So you have another one?" Hitsugaya's voice said calmly, as he walked into view, some minor cuts adorning his features. "What did you do just now," he questioned. "That was not a Kido spell…"

"Correct Soul Reaper," Uryu said. "That was not one of your reaitsu based Kido spells," He raised himself from his knees and attempting to flex his arm, receiving finger twitches in response. "It was what we Quincy call a Ginto."

"Ginto?," Hitsugaya questioned, curiosity winning out over the drive for battle.

"A pre-prepared spell to be used in emergency situations," Uryu replied, further attempting to move his arm, this time gaining some wrist movement. "It doesn't need Reaitsu to use, this making it ideal in a situation where you are running low."

"Thanks for the info," hitsugaya said with a smirk. "I'm sure the head of our science division would love to hear about that.."

"And I thank you as well,"

"What?," Hitsugaya replied.

"For giving my arm time to recover," Uryu said, drawing both Seele Gewher at once. "Now I can fight you at full strength."

"Damnit," Hitsugaya mumbled to himself. _**You Fool.. **_Hyorinmaru added from his mind.

Uryu dashed to the side using Hyorinkyaku, attempting to flank the frustrated soul reaper. Hitsugaya swung his blade wide, launching another serpentine wave of ice and sleet. Uryu fired into the mass of chilled water, shattering it.

**Have to get in close.. **Hitsugaya thought, using shunpo to close the distance. Uryu saw the charge and attempted to flee, but the Lieutenant's speed was superior, closing the gap. The young soul reaper flung the chain at Uryu once more, catching him around the ankle, stopping the Quincy in his tracks.

Uryu flipped himself over and fired with both guns rapidly, the bursts from the muzzles likening to a machine gun, the grips heating rapidly in his palms. **Got him.. **Uryu thought, looking at the mass of smoke and debris where the lieutenant had been standing.

"Impressive rate of fire,"

"What!," said Uryu, not believing his own ears.

The smoke cleared, revealing the diminutive lieutenant standing behind a thick wall of hardened ice, dozens of cracks and indentions littered its surface. "But nothing I haven't seen before," The Ice sheet repaired itself almost instantly. "My captain uses ranged attacks as well, but he uses thousands of them at once…..now that I know what you're capable of…this is nothing." His grip tightened on the chain, yanking it sharply and dragging Uryu with it. He used the momentum to throw Uryu into the air and slammed him into the ground, drawing a cry of pain from the Quincy. "It's over now," Hitsugaya said, walking slowly towards Uryu's splayed form. "Give up while you still can."

**At this rate… **Uryu thought, attempting to lift himself up but failing miserably. He dug into his pocket with some of his failing strength, touching on something which brought a smirk to his busted lips. He pulled out a small cracker like object, and crushed it in his hands. **This should send him running.. **

"What are you smirking about Quincy?," Hitsugaya said, approaching the injured Uryu. He raised his blade, point down, preparing to finish off his advisory. "Last chance, do you surrender?"

Uryu raised a shaky hand and pointed behind the small soul reaper.

"I won't fall for your stupid tricks aga…," He was cut off as an ear-piercing screech filled the air. "WHAT?," Hitsugaya said, turning to see gaping holes appear in the sky, white masks beginning to take shape. **Hollows.. **

"I'd get out of here if I was you," Uryu said to Hitsugaya, causing the white-haired soul reaper to face the Quincy. "That bait was enough to attract at least one-hundred hollows."

Hitsugaya's formerly triumphant face was now clouded by worry. **We've got to get out of here, things are getting too dangerous…..Abari! ** He mentally shouted as he felt one of his comrades fall. "But how.." He took off into the night sky, leaving the grinning Quincy to his fate

"Make use of your time Shiba," Gin said to the stunned Ichigo. "You can thank me in Soul Society." , he picked up the fallen form of Renji Abari. The red-headed soul reaper had been easily subdued, a quick supersonic jab to the base of the neck brings instant blackout. He turned to look at the boy before him and smirked. "So emotional…obviously protective… you're so much like your father."

Ichigo strained and grunted, trying to force himself to move in the onslaught of spiritual pressure. "Just…..wa….wait..tilI..et..ands..on..you.." Ichigo struggled to say, the weight making it difficult to breath, much less speak.

"Uh-uh-uh," Gin said, shaking his finger at Ichigo. "I'd try not to move if I was you." He sheathed his blade and readjusted those in his arms. "You're going to need every little bit of strength you've got, what with them coming and all.." He gestured with his head to the sky, bringing Ichigo's attention to the Hollows materializing by the dozen. "Not sure what happened, but I wish I could stick around." His head jerks to the left, **Ah, it seems Hitsugaya has found Tosen. **"So long Shiba boy, I sincerely hope we meet again." He shunpoed away, taking Ichigo's sisters with him.

Ichigo could only watch helplessly, as a gate opened in the sky, the soul reapers walking through. **I've failed….. I couldn't protect them….. Karin…..Yuzu….Dad…I'm sorry… **He Punched the ground below, cracking the pavement with the force. He cried to the heavens; it was a roar of sorrow, of pain, but most of all, one of unadulterated fury.

The sight of hundreds of hollows in the night sky would have been frightening if any had seen it, the average man or woman would not have noticed a problem with the sky at all, perhaps a slight haze, maybe even a feeling of uneasiness if they were truly special. Not a soul would witness the massive wave of hollows soon to descend upon the town. Well that isn't entirely true, some would sense it, but only one would truly see the site that night, a lowly shopkeeper, a seller of sweets and trifles to the local children.

Kisuke Urahara stood outside the door to his shop, watching the hollows gather with a sense of amusement. It had been sometime sense he had been able to unwind, and secretly he was looking forward to it. Normally, Hiyori dealt with the Hollows, however she was unconscious, that left Soifon and Yoruichi, however they were both occupied with collecting the aforementioned girl and the others. Ururu and Jinta couldn't stand up to such a threat, leaving Urahara to do the job. Instead of his usual attire, he now wore a long black coat with a deep hood, covering almost every inch of his body. It was a special reaitsu-masking cloak he had developed decades ago, enabling him to engage in combat if it was seemed necessary.

A Hollow screeched one of its primal roars, shattering a nearby window. **Poor fellow.. **"Do your hear that girl?," Kisuke asked, twisting his cane to reveal a blade hidden in the shaft. "Awaken, Benihime," His cane-sword transformed, its blade adopting the appearance of an extended razorblade, the crossguard morphing into a u-shape, a large red tassle extending from the pommel. He disappeared from view, reappearing on the roof of a sky scraper not far away. He thrust his blade forward, directly at mass of hollows. "Shred, Benihime." A shield made of red mist formed before the store owner, completely covering his front. Bolts of red energy shot out in rapid succession, tearing through the hollows one by one, in seconds, dozens were eliminated, leaving roughly half.

He leapt from the rooftop, jumping straight towards the remaining hollows, holding the blade to his side. He slashed through them all, one by one, one slash and one kill. After the last fell with its death call, the shopkeeper descended once more to the streets below, just in time to meet Yoruichi, who was carrying both Ichigo and Isshin on her powerful shoulders. The entire battle took less than fifteen seconds.

"So Kisuke, are you going to tell him now?," Yoruichi said, plopping the two Shiba men down side by side. "You can't keep him in the dark for much longer,"

"I know," said Kisuke, removing his hood as he walked into the shop, "however we cannot risk it at the current time."

"And why not?"

"You know the next step, Yoruichi," Urahara said, looking sadly at the quintet of unconscious forms before him. "Besides, Isshin chose not to tell his son for a reason, and we should respect that."

"I suppose you're right," she answered, removing her own cloak before once again taking the shape of a cat. "It just bothers me is all."

"I understand," Kisuke said, reaching down to pet the cat. "I wouldn't worry about the girls though, they are in good hands after all,"

"PERHAPS YOU MISUNDERSTOOD ME WHEN I SAID ALL FOUR!," The captain-commander bellowed at the returning Lieutenants. "BEFORE ME I SEE TWO...WHERE ARE THE OTHERS!"

"Sir, the father was inconsequential and the boy will be here shortly," Gin answered his grin once again plastered on his face.

"What do you mean by inconsequential?," Yamamoto answered.

"I was able to render him unconcious by merely being in the same room," Gin answered. "And the boy, well Lieutenant Abarai was more than a match for him."

"Then why must I ask is Lieutenant Abarai unconcouis in the barracks of the fourth division?" replied the captain commander

"That is unknown to me sir," Gin said respectively.

The commander gave him a long, hard look analyzing every litte detail in Gin's face, unfortunately Gins face was rock rock-steady.

"Very well, however I shall deduct a months pay from wach of you for failing to meet key objectives." Yamamoto decreed. "Second order of business is to deal with these wretched young ones." he said, waving a hand towards the bound forms of Yuzu and Karin, the former appeared terrified, while the other more annoyed than anything.

"I call for execution," said Byakuya Kuchiki. "We have all seen what they are capable of, we should not allow for these young ones to live any longer than is necessary."

"If I may commander," said Captain Kurotsuchi. "I have always wondered what it was in their blood that gave them such raw power..." A greedy, excited glint passed across his eyes. "...perhaps I could experiment a bi..."

"Pardon me sir," a third voice interjected. "Perhaps we could keep them in confinement, perhaps using them as bait to lure both the remaining Shiba, and perhaps possible allies; I believe my division could hold them ver..."

"You were not there all those years ago!," Captain Kuchiki shouted in response. "How could you possibly know the danger they present!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH CAPTAIN KUCHIKI!," Commander Yamamoto yelled, silencing the pair. "Are there any further ideas?"

"Perhaps a compromise can be met," the captain of the 13 division Jushiro Ukitake said. "Perhaps we can hold them, but place them under the control of Captain Kuchiki's division."

The captain commander was silent for a brief time before nodding his head. "Very well, we shall use Captain Aizen's idea of imprisonment, however they shall be placed under the jurisdiction of captian Kuchiki.


	18. Author Note

Hello.

I know its been ages since I have done much of anything on this.

But, good news; I have recently rediscovered the itch to write, and I am strongly considering continuing work on Rogue Soul.

I'm not exactly sure what it is I want to do yet, whether to make something new, re-write, or just continue where I left off.

If it's not too much to ask, it would be helpful if some of you could send me some feedback on current aspects of this story. Things you like, things you didn't like, helpful suggestions. That kind of thing could be incredibly useful.

If you have the time, I ask you send me a pm containing what you thought was good, along with some things that may not have been so great.

It has been a while since I have updated some of these, and your feedback could speed things along and get the Creative juices flowing again. :)


	19. Good news and Bad news

_**AN: Well I got some good news, and some bad news. The good news is that work is now continuing on Rogue Soul and a new chapter was uploaded tonight. The bad news is that it wasn't and won't be on this one.**_

_** You see, I went back and read through this and frankly didn't like what I saw. Too much going on with too many people, not enough explanation. It was to jumbled and crazy. **_

_** So, I had the idea to maybe re-write it. That was played with for a bit, but it wasn't until I sat down and went through the plot that I decided some changes were necessary. Thus, after a few months, I came out with Rogue Soul 2.0. It's up right now, you can search for it if you want, or just go to my profile page to get at it. I'm leaving this one up though, for those among you will inevitably find it superior to the re-write.**_

_** Sorry to not continue, but hey, give the re-write a chance. Who knows, you might like it.**_


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